Portal: Separate
by Esperwen
Summary: [the fifth Portal fanfic] Michiko strives to become a medic, Deniizu to power, Hinata to confidence, and Pooriin to ninja...four different directions. Can they make it, separated?
1. The World Only Seems Unchanged

Esperwen: ...Hey! (waves) It's nice to be back and posting. Sorry for the wait; you know that I like to write the whole story first before posting.

Itachi: And your excuse this portal is...?

Ruroni: my bad. i switched schools so esperwen ended up going solo for a while. but im back now.

Kiba: Hey, I've been wondering. How come Ruroni has no idea what punctuation and grammar and everything are, while Esperwen's is always so neat, but fluffy?

Ruroni: DO NOT MOCK MY TYPING OR YOU SHAL BE DELETED FROM FUTURE PLOTS!

Shino: ...you spelled 'shall' wrong.

Ruroni: THAT GOES FOR U TOO SECONDARY CARACTER!!!!!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, anything related with Naruto, we hate ShinoXKiba relations, the Legendary Sannin, competitions, apprenticeships, arguments between friends, nor the Sasuke retrieval arc.

* * *

**Chapter One: The World Only Seems Unchanged**

Chatora Pooriin stumbled out of the Aburame household with only one thought on her mind:_ Finally...it's over!_

Daily, over the past two and a half months, the 12-year-old girl had been going through strenuous mental and emotional training with the head of the Aburame household, Aburame Shibi. She had been improving smoothly with controlling her anger, but her nerves were wearing thin. Some of Shibi's tactics were rather...unkind.

"What did he say this time?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, taking her hand once she reached the road.

"Basically, that you were gay," Pooriin informed her boyfriend tiredly, before adding, "With Shino."

"Excuse me?" a shocked baritone voice inquired to Pooriin and Kiba's right.

Aburame Shino, who had spoken, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Michiko with her four dogs had been waiting quietly with Kiba for Pooriin to finish her training. Pooriin had been too tired to notice them when she had exited the household.

"I'm serious," Pooriin complained, dragging her feet through the moonlit streets towards her home, "He really did say that."

"Huh. I learned something new today," Michiko said thoughtfully, earning a glare from the two boys, and a giggle from Hinata, "What else did Shibi-san say?"

"That you think I'm ugly, and Hinata thinks I'm a waste of time," Pooriin answered promptly, while the group of five began walking through Konoha's streets, "Oh, and that I needed a make-over badly."

"He's getting more and more personal," Hinata said sympathetically, then turned to Shino, "Does this mean that the training's coming along well?"

"For an Aburame, considering that his comments aren't really that terrible, this is going pathetically slow," Shino said honestly, "But for an outsider, yes, Pooriin's doing well."

"Aw..." Michiko hurried forward and gave Pooriin a hug, "Hear that? You're doing well. We love you."

"I'm tired," Pooriin sniffed.

"Well, _I'm_ not carrying you," Michiko huffed, releasing her friend from the hug, "I'm tired too. You're not the only one who's been training."

"Thanks," Pooriin said sarcastically, giving Michiko an annoyed look.

Michiko grinned; teasing Pooriin was a pasttime that both she and Kiba enjoyed; then looked at her largest dog, Athos, and raised her eyebrow. Not that Athos was very big; his head only came up to mid-shin on Michiko. The brown pup woofed and seemed to nod, and Michiko made a few handseals before resting her hand on Athos' head. The dog soon grew about eight times his usual size, making him roughly as large as a small pony.

"But you can ride Athos, here," Michiko offered, and Athos smiled at Pooriin in a friendly way.

Pooriin merely gave a tired smile to her friends, then sat side-saddle on the brown dog like it was natural for her.

"Where did you learn to do that jutsu?" Hinata asked curiously, while Athos' three brothers and Akamaru sniffed him cautiously, making sure he was the same dog.

"It's just a normal transformation, but not on me," Michiko shrugged, "It's making an object look like something else, like Naruto's Orioke no Jutsu, only on another person."

"Oh yeah," Kiba nodded thoughtfully, remembering Naruto's demonstration in class several months ago, "I remember _that_ jutsu."

"Don't make me throw my shoe at you," Pooriin growled goodnaturedly, and Kiba grinned to show he was kidding.

"Unfortunately, that is the _only_ jutsu that Kiba remembers from the Academy," Shino said with his usual straight face, then with a wry smile he dodged a punch from his best friend; Shino always rose to the occasion whenever there was something to tease Kiba about.

"...This is where we part," Hinata said, when they came to an intersection.

Hinata turned right, Kiba and Pooriin went straight, while Shino and Michiko turned left.

"G'night, guys," Michiko called.

"Sayonara," Hinata goodbyed.

"See you tomorrow," Kiba called.

"Wait, Michii, what about Athos?" Pooriin asked, realizing that she was still riding the dog.

"Porthos is going with him, see?" Michiko asked, pointing to the mottled dog what was still trotting beside Akamaru, "Both of them will take care of each other when they come home on their own. Don't worry! They're ninken dogs."

"Said like a true Inuzuka," Kiba grinned, waving to his adopted sister, "'Bye!"

When all three of the other 12-year-olds were out of sight, Shino took Michiko's hand in his own, and the black-haired girl couldn't help but grin.

"Now that Kiba's no longer here to tease us, right?" Michiko asked, giving her boyfriend's hand a squeeze.

"Pretty much," Shino nodded, undoing the top of his collar, and Michiko could see that he was giving a rare smile.

"You should smile more," Michiko scolded lightly, poking Shino in the side, "It's healthier than frowning all the time."

"My facial expressions are none of your affair," Shino informed her calmly, and ignored when Michiko rolled her eyes, "...you just came back from another week-long mission."

"Yeah," Michiko nodded, suddenly intent on where her other two dogs, Aramis and D'Artagnan were; she realized that they had run ahead to the apartment she and her friend Deniizu shared.

"Can't you tell me where you go?" Shino asked, pulling Michiko to a stop.

"I...yes, but-" Michiko couldn't meet his eyes somehow.

"But what?" Shino interrupted, "First, it was classified information. The second time, Inel-san told you not to say. The third time, you said you would tell me later, but you never did. It's been four times now, where you'd come back for one day, then leave for a week, without telling anybody anything. A whole month! What's going on?"

Michiko opened her mouth to say something, then shut it with a stubborn look on her face.

"Don't play the 'concerned boyfriend' card," Michiko muttered, "That isn't fair."

"Then don't make me the bad guy," Shino countered, "...I thought you wanted this to work out."

"I do!"

"Then _make_ this work! I'm trying to be good to you, but this has to be a two-way street."

"You're trying to play that card agai-"

"So are you!"

Michiko glared at Shino, and Shino glared back. Unfortunately for the girl, he had the advantage; he could see her eyes, but she couldn't see his. Irrationally angry now, Michiko kicked Shino hard in the shin, wrenched her hands out of his, and stomped away. Or tried to; some child in the village had set a tripwire up, and it snagged her foot completely, causing her to fall in both an undignified, and very un-dramatic manner.

"Life sucks," Michiko grumbled to the sky, in a perfectly teenaged way, while Shino stood over her and looked down serenely, "...What're _you_ lookin' at?"

"My girlfriend," Shino answered smoothly, "She's acting like a fool right now."

Michiko twisted and landed another kick on his shin, in the same spot as before. Though he didn't show it on his face, Shino felt his leg bruising where she'd kicked him; Michiko must have used chakra in the blow.

"Funny," Michiko snapped, getting up and walking towards her home again.

"You too," Shino retorted, ignoring the pain in his leg and marching right beside Michiko, "Fine. If you can't tell me now, when _can_ you tell me?"

Michiko had reached the apartment stairs by now; after stomping her feet so hard, her anger was gone, and now there was just regret.

"I'm not sure," Michiko answered quietly, before turning back to her boyfriend, "Maybe next week, maybe never. It depends."

"Depends on...what?" Shino prompted, but Michiko only shook her head.

"I'm sorry. For kicking you and everything. But I need one more week," Michiko said softly, hugging and looking up at Shino, "I'm leaving tomorrow, and when I come back, maybe I'll be able to tell you."

"'Maybe' isn't good enough," Shino grumbled good-naturedly, "I need a straight answer. Yes or no?"

_But you might be disappointed in me, Shino-sensei,_ Michiko thought, remembering when he was her tutor, and how angry he'd be when she made mistakes, _I want you to be proud of me._

"...Please?" Shino asked, when Michiko hesitated, "I just want to know what's going on."

"You're playing that card again," Michiko reprimanded.

"It's an effective tactic," Shino pointed out.

"...Fine," Michiko sighed, pushing away from her boyfriend, "I will tell you what's going on, once I come back from my next trip. But only then."

"I'll be waiting," Shino said, quickly giving her a peck on the cheek before she went up the stairs, and then he was gone.

"That's a waste of chakra, using the Body Flicker Technique like that," Michiko called, in case Shino was still in earshot, realizing what he'd done, but she still smiled to herself before entering her apartment.

Esperwen: Yes! My fluff made it to the first chapter!

Ruroni: shut up and let the story kep going

The next day, all of Konoha was alerted that the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, had arrived in the night and was going to become the Fifth Hokage. Much of Konoha made excuses to visit the Hokage's building, mostly just to see what the new village leader looked like, and that included Michiko and Satoki Inel. They had a mission to do, after all, and they needed to sign out before leaving the village.

"Have you seen Deniizu, Inel-sensei?" Michiko asked, while they went up the flights of stairs to the Hokage's office.

"No since two nights ago," the former Sound-nin answered, "You neither, heh?"

"No," Michiko shook her head disappointedly.

"...You should no worry about her," Inel said, seeing Michiko's worried look, "She is the strong. And she is the safe because she is most often around Itachi or Korii."

"Yes, sir," Michiko nodded morosely, and Inel decided that it would be more tactful to say nothing more. Both of them knew that Deniizu had been very hard to reach as of late; she was always somewhere other than where she had to be for her ninja team.

Presently, a dark-haired young woman in a dark robe met them by the Hokage's office.

"Ah, would you two be Satoki Inel, and his student Inuzuka Michiko?" the woman asked, then smiled when they said yes, "Excellent! My name's Shizune; you came just in time for your appointment. I'll just go in and tell Tsunade-sama that you're here."

While Shizune went inside, Michiko struggled to keep her face smooth, even though she was bubbling inside with excitement.

_It's Shizune! It really is Shizune!_ Michiko thought happily, _The great Tsunade really _is_ in there! This is so awesome!_

"She'll see you now," Shizune informed them, sticking her head out from the office doors.

"Thanks," Michiko and Inel smiled to the Fifth Hokage's aide, and they entered the office quickly.

"So _you're_ the Michiko that Sarutobi-sama made so many notes on," Tsunade said, after introductions had been made.

"Uh...notes?" Michiko stammered, "Wh-what notes?"

"Don't worry, it isn't just you," the legendary healing kunoichi said kindly, "Both you and Deniizu. ...What? You think that becoming a ninja in a month is nothing worth noting?"

"Eto...Would it really be wise for me to answer that? Because I don't think so," Michiko said, and Tsunade smiled.

"Fair enough. Moving along, it says in this note that you have been travelling between Suna and Konoha, vying against about...five other candidates for an apprenticeship there."

The notes were accurate; each time Michiko had gone to Suna, she had taken part in a sort of 'contest' with five other ninja that wanted to gain a teacher in Suna. Temari had told her that competition was fierce, and it was! All of them were skilled healers; three of them were male, and two were female. But one by one, after each 'trial', competitors were eliminated, for things like lack of chakra control, poor focus, even for overly vague diagnosis; now, it was just Michiko and a boy from the Hidden Waterfall. But Michiko had a slight edge; she was younger than any of the other ninja by at least eight years, and if her skill wasn't equal, her control was better. This made most of the judges think higher of her than her competition. Still, she had not yet told Shino about it for fear that she would end up dropping out of the competition and simply be a huge disappointment to him.

"Today, you have come to sign out and leave for the final trial," Tsunade continued, looking at her papers, "A secret competition for the medical elite... Well. I don't see why not. Here are your passports," she said, handing them both to Inel, then made a dismissing motion, "Now get out of here! Show them what our will of fire can do!"

_Dattebayo,_ Michiko thought, impishly. (A/N: If you watch the English dubbed (shudder) version of Naruto, Michiko means, 'Believe it!')

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will," Michiko grinned, making a slight bow, and she and her sensei hurried out of the office.

And even more time skips merrily by...

_Was that her?_

Two days later, after Michiko had left for Suna, Pooriin thought she saw a familiar grey blur on the rooftops to her right.

"Kiba, Hinata, did you see that?" Pooriin asked the two people with her.

That evening, only Kiba and Hinata came to pick Pooriin up after her training; Shino didn't usually walk with them unless Michiko was there, and she hadn't returned from her mission yet. Also, Aburame Shino and Shibi needed to get ready for a mission that would begin the next day, so Shino had decided to stay home and prepare.

"I...I think so," Hinata answered unsurely, turning to get a better look at the rooftops.

"Think it was her?" Kiba asked in a grumpy voice, "C'mon, Akamaru! Let's see if it's her."

The white dog barked, and as one, both he and Kiba jumped up to the rooftops.

"Wait for us!" Pooriin exclaimed, and she and Hinata lept onto the roofs as well.

"...Pooriin-chan, you haven't been training only your mind, have you?" Hinata asked curiously, glancing at her friend with her activated Byakugan, while they both turned to try and catch the grey blur in a pincer movement.

"Nope," Pooriin shook her head, with a wide grin, "Aniki's been helping me learn more taijutsu during my breaks during Shibi-san's training. It's been great!"

"I'm happy for you," Hinata said, smiling at her friend, then got serious when she saw something in the distance, "Kiba's caught up to her."

"Let's go," Pooriin nodded, completely businesslike, and she and Hinata sped up.

Glancing at Pooriin in the corner of her eye, Hinata couldn't help but feel a small surge of pride for her friend. When they had first met her, Pooriin had been timid, and too afraid to protect herself if she were confronted by an enemy. But now, she had more control over her fear, and she was more agile and strong when fighting. While she was still the affectionate Pooriin, she was also becoming a capable fighter; Hinata guessed that Pooriin would almost definitely rise to the occasion, should any of her friends be attacked.

Now, they could see that Kiba and Akamaru were trying to tackle a girl in grey that was their age; both of them hurried to help. Hinata jumped and managed to grab an ankle before her hold was kicked away, but not before Pooriin could get a headlock on the girl. The girl quickly flipped Pooriin off of her, and kicked Kiba hard in the gut before Hinata landed a blow on a chakra opening on the girl's leg, making it useless. Swearing loudly, the girl stopped fighting and held a hand towards Hinata; suddenly, Hinata was suspended two feet up into the air and unable to move, seemingly held by nothing. Kiba and Akamaru tackled the girl in grey as one, and managed to sit on her, ruining her concentration and causing her to drop Hinata. Pooriin took this chance to take out a bit of wire, and firmly tied the girl's arms and legs together, effectively making her immobile.

"Ok, ok," the girl grumbled from her place, lying on the roof, "I give up. Good job with that wire, by the way, Pauline."

"Thanks, Denise," Pooriin grinned, then frowned at her friend, "But didn't you have a music rehearsal earlier with Korii and Inel-san? And isn't Inel-san's house on the other side of Konoha? As in...not anywhere near here?"

"...I seem to recall something like that..." Deniizu answered slowly, looking up at the sky as if the answer were written there.

"You cut rehearsal _again_?" Kiba exclaimed, "You haven't been to, what..._five_ rehearsals? And when was the last time you were home?"

"Home is where the heart is," Deniizu quipped, grinning openly.

"Deniizu!" Pooriin exclaimed, annoyed at her friend's nonchalance.

"Hinata, Juuken her until she bleeds," Kiba growled, and for a second, Hinata actually looked like she was contemplating it. Or maybe the others had imagined it; Hinata was a gentle soul, after all.

"Have you at least been helping Michiko pay for the apartment?" Hinata asked tiredly.

"Ok, no offence, but it's kind of dumb to pay for something I never use," Deniizu said seriously.

"That's a 'no', then?" Pooriin sighed.

"Hey, Michelle's ok with it," Deniizu said, shrugging, "We've had this deal for almost a month; if I don't live there, then I don't have to pay. Hell, I barely even visit!"

_Michiko said nothing about a deal,_ Kiba thought, _But it figures. If she said anything, we'd be pissed with Deniizu, and Michiko always tries to keep us from yelling at Deniizu._

"You've been hanging around Itachi for way too long," Pooriin growled irritably.

"Not true," Deniizu interrupted, "I've been staying at Korii's place lately. Ask Hinata."

Pooriin and Kiba looked at the Hyuuga heiress expectantly, hoping for a denial, and frowned when they saw her nod.

"That's it," Kiba groused, "Michiko's moving in with us. It's too much to pay rent on her own with the D-rank missions she's doing."

All three of the twelve-year-olds and Akamaru glared at Deniizu; her 'devil may care' attitude had gone from amusing, to tolerable, to simply annoying. Soon, they knew that attitude was going to become angering.

"...Well, I'm tired," Pooriin spoke up, "We may as well head home."

Both she and Kiba began to head towards the Chatora household, and after hesitating and glancing at Deniizu, who was still tied up, Hinata hurried after them.

"Oh, come on, guys!" Deniizu yelled after the three friends, but her complaints fell onto deaf ears, "Aren't you going to untie me? ...Ugh, _fine_."

Concentrating again, Deniizu used her telekinetic bloodline limit to undo the knots that tied the wires on her arms and legs. Once she was free, she gingerly tested her right leg; thankfully, the effects of Hinata's Juuken attack had worn off. Without even a limp, Deniizu jumped between rooftops again, searching for Itachi for the date they had arranged a few days before. As she passed by a tree, she noted that Kakashi had tied Sasuke to a tree using wires.

_The Sound Four must be near, _Deniizu thought, glancing around warily, _So...it starts with Sasuke, too._

Tsk...Deniizu...

The next morning, Kiba's walk with Akamaru was interrupted by Shikamaru when he passed by the Akimichi household.

"Right now, Shino is out on a mission with his father," Kiba informed Shikamaru, "I guess this is what I get for waking up early and trying to take a walk," he added with a wolfish grin.

Less than half an hour later, Kiba and Akamaru were at the village gates, ready to leave on their most dangerous mission yet: Sasuke's retrieval from the Sound Four.


	2. Changes to Prepare For

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, critically injured patients, bad liars, dysfunctional friends, evil organizations, etc. etc.

Michiko: Whoa...there's a huge time change here between chapters!

Kiba: Yeah, like a week. What's with that?

Deniizu: I'm in this chapter though, so time change or no, this chapter is still cool.

Hana: Hey, look at that. I'm here too. Maybe it's _me_ that makes that chapter cool.

Itachi: ...no, it must be me.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Changes to Prepare For**

One sunny afternoon, Michiko ran straight to the Inuzuka household; as soon as she returned from Suna and signed in to the Hokage, she had heard about Kiba's mission. By now, Kiba and Akamaru had returned; both were in Kiba's room when Michiko ran in.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Michiko yelled, concerned, with all four of her dogs in her wake as she threw Kiba's door open.

"Kuso!" Kiba exclaimed, completely startled and falling out of his bed, "_OW!"_

"Oops," Michiko blinked, seeing how many bandages Kiba was in, and realizing how delicate his condition was.

"LEARN TO KNOCK!" Kiba bellowed angrily, and Akamaru barked with him.

"Michi-chan?" Hana hurried around the corner with her own pack of dogs, "Michiko, there's a critically injured patient here. You can't run around like that."

Hana peeked into Kiba's room, then shook her head and leaned against the doorway casually.

"Kiba, what're you doing out of bed? I thought I told you to take it easy."

"I was!" Kiba protested, "But then _she_ ran in, screaming like a lunatic!"

"_You're_ a lunatic," Michiko retorted.

"You smell funny," Kiba shot back, and Hana rolled her eyes.

"You're so immature!" Michiko exclaimed, annoyed, "I heard about your mission and that you got hurt, but when I come here to check on you, you're acting like a jerk!"

"He always acts like a jerk," Hana pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," Michiko nodded.

"Hey!"

"By the way, you're moving in with us," Hana cut in, completely stopping any further argument.

"...eh?" Michiko stared at her adoptive sister, understanding nothing of what she'd just said.

That was really random, Aramis commented, sitting down on the floor with a thump.

Kiba chose that moment to start coughing up blood; his wounds must have reopened from exertion. Michiko and Hana hurried over and helped him back into his bed.

"Thanks," Kiba said weakly, while Hana checked on Akamaru, who was on a small platform beside him, and while Michiko adjusted Kiba's pillows, "Yeah, but you're moving in with us. We've already moved your stuff."

We're living here? Athos asked, uncharacteristically enthusiastic as he jumped up and down around Hana excitedly.

"...eh?" Michiko stared at her adoptive brother, understanding nothing of what he'd just said.

"I took the liberty of moving all of the stuff in your apartment, which wasn't really much, into one of the spare bedrooms," Hana explained, satisfied that Akamaru was healing nicely, and patting Athos on the head to calm him down, "It's the room right across from here, by the way."

Hear that, Akamaru-nii? Porthos asked happily, jumping to sit beside Akamaru on the platform, We're like roomies now!

...Never say 'roomies' again, Akamaru said sternly, looking at the younger dog in the corner of his eye.

"...eh?" Michiko stared at her adoptive sister, only slightly understanding what was going on now.

"And don't worry about the food; it's in our kitchen, and the Pocky's in your room," Kiba added, while Michiko activated her healing jutsu in a dazed fashion.

I heard 'Pocky', D'Artagnan yipped, cocking an ear up and standing on his hind legs, looking for attention.

"But..." Michiko used her examining jutsu to do a quick check-up on Kiba, then focused on his abdomen, where he had stabbed himself in his battle against Sakon and Ukon, "Hey, what happened here?!"

"I stabbed myself," Kiba shrugged, then laughed at Michiko's glare.

"I changed my mind," Michiko said loudly, "You're not a jerk. You're just dumb."

"I didn't do it just for fun!" Kiba exclaimed, "The guy I was fighting against melded into my body, kind of like what you can do. I was out of chakra and Akamaru couldn't fight anymore, so I thought, 'If we're sharing the same body, couldn't we share the same wounds?' And when I stabbed myself, the guy got hurt too. We were supposed to die together."

"So what went wrong?" Michiko asked innocently.

"Oh, very funny," Kiba sneered, swatting at his sister's head, "He ended up just exiting my body, so I ended up getting the worst of the stab wound. Seriously, though...I did think I was going to die for a little while. I ran away from him, carrying Akamaru, but he still caught up to me."

"Toutou-kun, here, was lucky," Hana smiled, ruffling her brother's hair, "Kankurou-san from the Hidden Sand managed to rescue him. Much to our annoyance."

"Admit it! You're happy I'm still alive!" Kiba laughed.

"Never! We would've had one less mouth to feed, if that Sakon guy had gotten his way," Hana laughed back, then turned to Michiko, "But enough about Kiba...hey, Michi, why aren't you laughing?"

"I am! I am!" Michiko protested, forcing on a smile.

"That's such a fake smile," Kiba rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "You're a bad liar."

"Your mom's a bad liar," Michiko grumbled.

"She's your mom too!" Kiba barked, throwing a pillow at Michiko, then realised something, "Oh, this is about Deniizu, isn't it?"

"Ok, we all know that she hasn't been home in about a month," Hana said, putting her hands on her hips and looking stern, "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"...You should've told us she didn't live with you anymore," Kiba sighed, "The only reason you stayed at that apartment was because you didn't want her left alone."

Michiko, now finished with Kiba, undid her healing jutsu and stood up slowly.

"...eh? How did you guys know...?" her voice trailed off.

"You may have Suna-worthy skill in healing, but your information processing definitely leaves something to be desired," a familiar woman's voice said from the doorway.

Michiko looked up, then smiled and ran to give her adoptive mother, Tsume, a welcoming hug.

"Am I really living here, Tsume-okaa?" Michiko asked, using her latest nickname for Tsume.

"Hey, what's this about 'Suna-worthy' skills?" Kiba asked, while Tsume assured her adopted daughter that the two siblings had been telling the truth.

For the past month, all three of the Inuzuka had been informed fully of Michiko's endeavors to become part of Suna's medical apprenticeship program; nobody else, other than the Hokage, Inel, and possibly Shizune had any idea that Michiko had been planning in Suna.

"Yeah, how _did_ your mission go?" Hana asked, "Did you...did you get in?"

Did you think she wouldn't? D'Artagnan and Porthos barked at the same time.

Of course she did! Aramis yipped happily.

She has to stay in Suna for a month, every other month, Athos explained excitedly, It's so that her sensei in the Hidden Sand can take a break, and she gets a chance to practice any new techniques on her own time. She also gets citizenship to Suna, so she's allowed be in Suna _and_ Konoha at any time!

"Aw, that's cool!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I know!" Michiko laughed, "I can't wait to start!"

"...When do you have to go back?" Hana asked, after a moment.

Michiko's smile faded for a second, then she grinned again.

"I've got three months!"

_...Only three months?_ Tsume thought, but outwardly, she kept smiling, "...what's this I hear about me being a bad liar?"

Ah, how I love 'yo mama' jokes...

Those three months truly did seem short. Michiko went around Konoha, either settling money debts that she owed to shopkeepers, getting rid of her apartment, visiting the hospital and learning what she could, or even doing the small D- or C-rank missions that Tsunade set out for her team. They were both good times, since they were the last few months before very hard work, and bitter times, because after those months, she wouldn't really belong to Konoha anymore. She would live with the Inuzuka while she was there, of course, but she would need to find a home while in Suna, too. Technically, she wouldn't really belong anywhere.

And one constant worry with her was Deniizu. The young prodigy rarely ever appeared during Team 13's missions, saying that they were too simple, she had plans, or some other excuse.

"Deniizu, you have to stay with us! Just for a week, even!" Michiko begged, one month after getting into Suna's apprenticeship program.

"I can't," Deniizu said stubbornly, stabbing the tree she was sitting in irritably, while she, Michiko and Korii hid from the ANBU that were searching for her, "Itachi's been training me a lot better than Inel would here in Konoha. Besides, I haven't been missing much; you've only been doing D- or C-ranks."

"But that isn't our fault!" Michiko exclaimed, "Korii, tell her!"

"Yeah, Michiko's right this time," Korii nodded, "Without you around, Team 13 is considered incomplete. The reason we've only been doing these crappy missions is because mid-C-ranks are as high as a three-man genin team is allowed to do. You need four people to get optimal power for missions."

"Deniizu, please stay," Michiko said again, "It'll just be a lecture from sensei and Tsunade-sama, and-"

"And then nothing will change," Deniizu interrupted calmly, "I know the Hokage's been watching me; she wants a lock on Itachi. If I go on higher missions, Itachi might follow me, and she knows it; she won't want her missions in jeopardy. And if Itachi follows me during small missions, which is more likely, she'll be able to track him down."

Michiko balled her hands into fists, trying to get angry with her friend. But she couldn't; somehow, she couldn't really lash out a Deniizu. And as they all knew, the only way to keep Deniizu in one place was a show of power, something Michiko couldn't do against a friend. Korii couldn't do anything either; he didn't want to end up hurting Deniizu.

Suddenly, a poof of smoke appeared on the tree branch beside them, and Itachi appeared.

"...The ANBU are getting close, Deniizu," Itachi said, holding a hand out towards her.

"Let's go," Deniizu said curtly, ignoring the hand and simply standing beside the missing-nin.

Korii saw the look that Deniizu had on her face when Itachi appeared, and watched her carefully as she moved; she'd looked annoyed when her boyfriend appeared. Michiko saw the pained look that briefly showed through Itachi's usual serene mask, and her heart went out to him; he knew that Deniizu's feelings were changing. Deniizu looked at her friends calmly, but inside, she felt confusion; if Michiko were trying, she would have felt a storm of every element in Deniizu's emotions. The green-eyed girl knew she was hurting her friends, but also knew that in order to move forward in power, she had to get away from them. She wanted to explain that to her friends, but here was Itachi, interrupting her. Itachi saw small tears of frustration in Michiko's eyes that Deniizu had missed; he knew exactly how it felt to want to change someone, but have no control over the matter.

_Teen angst,_ Michiko thought angrily, yet silently, _The world's a soap opera..._

"...Our team doesn't have very long to last," Korii thought out loud, when Deniizu and Itachi disappeared.

"Yeah," Michiko nodded, wiping her eyes, "We're falling apart."

Nobody really knew where Deniizu went; she never left notes or an address to where she might be. Tsunade meant to give her a lecture on proper kunoichi conduct and her responsibilities to the village, but Deniizu was clever and always managed to slip through the Fifth Hokage's fingers.

Also, Deniizu had become very familiar with her bloodline limit. She could lift just about anything, short of an actual building, using her telekinesis, though it varied for how long she could keep the object suspended, and she could now go through people's memories while fighting against another genin. She had also realized that her ability could only read current, conscious thoughts and memories; she couldn't read the subconscious mind, but from what she remembered from her childhood, nobody in her family's history ever could. She was also doing well with genjutsu, so long as she kept a hard rein on her chakra; her only weaknesses were overdoing how much chakra she used, and concentration. Other than that, she felt that all she had to do was improve on what she already knew. And doing D-ranked missions wasn't getting her that. So, she went with Itachi and Kisame while they were in the Fire Country, and learned and practiced all that she could during their travels. Soon, she felt she would surpass her father, which was exactly what she wanted more than anything, now.

But a problem was brewing with Deniizu and her limit, which she found out a month before Michiko had to leave for Suna.

So...there is another mini time skip, two months after that Inuzuka scene.

Deniizu walked into the training field, her body completely tense. She had arrived for her usual training with Itachi, and he didn't always go easy on her; he usually ambushed her from just about any direction, a fact that she was well used to by now. With a kunai and dagger at the ready, she glanced around in every direction, ready for just about anything. Training with both Itachi and Korii had greatly improved her taijutsu, and she knew it. She wasn't as good as Rock Lee, but she believed that she was above Michiko, Kiba and Hinata's levels.

"We won't be sparring today," Itachi informed her, suddenly appearing from the trees on her left.

Deniizu blinked, slightly startled by Itachi's entrance, then nodded and made as if to put her weapons away, before quickly twisting and throwing her kunai straight at Itachi's scratched forehead protector.

_Don't let your guard down, right?_ Deniizu thought to herself, pulling another kunai out of her weapons pouch while watching the first one fly, _Even if the enemy says it's safe. Or rather, especially._

At first, Itachi didn't move, and Deniizu realized with some horror that Itachi may not be able to see the weapon coming towards him. It was early evening, and after so much use of his Mangenkou sharingan, Itachi's eyesight was failing almost as quickly as the sunlight at that moment. But just before Deniizu could call out, Itachi deftly caught the kunai at its tip between his index and middle fingers, before tossing it carelessly aside.

"I'm serious, Deniizu," Itachi said brusquely, as Kisame appeared, joining his collegue's side while he approached Deniizu, "We need to talk."

"...You're dumping me?" Deniizu gasped, half-seriously, then pointed at Kisame with a shocked expression, "And you brought _him_ as an audience?"

"No," Itachi answered curtly, with a slight smirk, "I'm not dumping you. Kisame-san just wants to help explain your situation with me."

_Though, if there's any dumping to be done, it will be soon,_ Itachi thought, his devil-may-care attitude belying the tangle of emotions he felt towards Deniizu, _I'm not so close to blindness to miss the way you and Korii are around each other, or the way that you have changed towards me._

"What is it?" Deniizu asked, completely serious now while she put her weapons away, for real this time, "What 'situation' am I in?"

"Allow me, Itachi-san," Kisame said, stepping forward, "This has to do with your bloodline limit."

"Go on," Deniizu prompted, standing right in front of the Akatsuki partners, curious and slightly apprehensive of what they were going to say.

"Well, to begin," Kisame said, looking directly at Deniizu with a 'no nonsense' tone, "In the Hidden Waterfall village, the bloodline limit of the once mighty Yasusora clan is not completely forgotten with dedicated scholars. The hidden village's archives still hold stories of the Yasusora's mental capabilities, their history in past battles, their unique jutsus...and their family records."

Kisame took this moment to pause and look at Deniizu's reaction. She hadn't moved, but he noticed a slight fading of colour in her face, and minor added tension around her lips.

_She doesn't like how she may still be linked to that ruined clan,_ Kisame thought.

_Is that how Sasuke looks when the Uchiha are mentioned?_ Itachi thought, then realized it was not so, _No, he still holds the family name; he still wants to revive the clan. Deniizu wants it to be dead._

"...family records?" Deniizu asked after a moment, "As in...what? The timeline of family events, stories of the clan's members...what?"

"They include death records or obituaries, take it as you will," Kisame started.

"And birth records," Itachi finished, "Every child of the Yasusora clan, no matter how distantly related, be they a niece to the clan leader, or a fifth cousin to the leader's son...Even if the clan member has been excommunicated! All of their births are noted down in the Yasusora archives, which then became property of the Hidden Waterfall."

"But how is that possible?" Deniizu asked, confused, "All of the family couldn't have stayed in just the Hidden Waterfall; if they couldn't be ninjas, they moved to other villages."

"Word of mouth," Kisame answered, "Or rather, word of thought. Not all of those with the manifested bloodline limit wanted to become a shinobi or kunoichi, so they moved with their other relatives who would not stay in the Hidden Waterfall. With every group of non-telepaths, there was at least one telepath, and they usually were trained to be very strong with at least speaking across distances. So, whenever there was a birth in the family, the region's telepath would send the message to the Yasusora who was just a little bit closer to the Hidden Waterfall, who then passed the message to someone who was even closer, until the clan leader was informed. The child's name and birth date is then noted in the family archives."

"...I still don't understand what the problem is," Deniizu said, shaking her head slowly, "So what if the village knows my birthday?"

"We're getting there," Kisame said irritably.

"Just keep listening to us, Deniizu," Itachi said calmly, "The problem is, our organization, the Akatsuki, have heard of what your clan can do. Two of our members went to the Hidden Waterfall, and found those records. We want control of your bloodlimit; it would be a very valuable asset to us."

"You mean that my family would be allowed to join the Akatsuki?" Deniizu asked eagerly, "Or..." her eyes darkened, "You're looking for my father? Is that it? You want _his_ help?"

"Not quite," Kisame answered, "We have no need for a madman or weaklings. No, we want a specimen to study."

Deniizu stared between the two S-ranked ninja, unbelieving of what she was hearing.

"You came to..._collect_ me? And study and do experiments on me?" Deniizu asked incredulously, already reaching for her weapons.

"Do you think so low of me?" Itachi asked, in a gentle voice that made Deniizu stop, "Deniizu...I'm _warning_ you."

Deniizu glanced at Kisame, then said into Itachi's head, _What about Kisame? Won't he rat on me?_

_Again, do you think so low of me?_ Itachi thought, _I have already taken care of that. My love...remember that between Kisame and I, I am the stronger._

"You still have some time before the Akatsuki come for you," Kisame said, oblivious of Deniizu and Itachi's private conversation, "We have not yet told our affiliation about you or your ability. In the Yasusora records, after Kurosaigo destroyed your clan, not all of your family in the Hidden Waterfall was accounted for. And still more of your clan is scattered across the countries."

"You have some time of safety," Itachi said, "But you still must prepare for when we hear that the rest of the Akatsuki is after you. You should leave here, and travel constantly. Otherwise, you will be easily tracked down, found and taken for study."

"...Ok," Deniizu nodded, after only a split second of hesitation, "I'll go. What's the plan?"

_I knew I'd have to leave my friends eventually, anyway,_ Deniizu thought to herself, ignoring the tiny bit of remorse that she felt.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a boy who could read lips, and who could see the weave of normal fabric at 97 metres, had been watching them from a safe distance the entire time. And was now suffering from eye-strain. But only temporarily.

* * *

Inel: I take these moment to say I am disappointed with my student.

Kurenai: I keep telling all of you she's evil, but none of you listen!

Kakashi: Y'know, if you keep muttering to yourself like that, you'll end up looking crazy. And nobody loves a crazy, red-eyed woman.

Kurenai: _Why_ are you here?

Kakashi: I'm so popular, all I have to do is appear, and then people will review.

Inel: Is good tactic. So, reader, please review.


	3. The Changes Begin

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, gambling bets, a concerned aide, the wonderful spare that enables us to post, the need to study for exams that hinders us, complications in relationships, etc., etc.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Changes Begin**

Pooriin was also working hard; since Shibi and Shino were out on their mission, Pooriin would get up early to meditate and practice taijutsu with Goudon and Bikto. She wasn't too good with weaponry, but like her eldest brother, she could use her fists and feet to fight. Bikto was also teaching her everything that he could that the Ninja Academy also covered, from Konoha's history to simple defence tactics. Why? Because the Chatora siblings and Godaime Hokage had made a deal.

"She wants to _what_?" Shizune exclaimed, in the Hokage's office, three days after Michiko had left for Suna for the final trial.

"Yeah, I wanna be a ninja!" Pooriin exclaimed angrily, "Is there a problem with that?"

_Tsk, what happened to her emotional training?_ Tsunade thought cynically.

"There are only about 50 problems with that, but we're going to walk right past that point for the time being," Goudon cut in, standing between Pooriin and Shizune's death stare.

"Just give her chance!" Bikto said sharply, "I have a deal that we could make."

"A deal?" Tsunade asked, suddenly interested.

_Heh. That's right, Bikto,_ Goudon thought, _Make it sound like we're gonna make a bet. That'll get her attention._

_NOOO! They know about Tsunade's penchant for gambling!_ Shizune thought, almost pulling her hair out with worry.

"Our deal is simple," Bikto said smoothly, leaning against the Fifth Hokage's desk in a businesslike way, "Pooriin isn't satisfied with being considered an unofficial ninja because of her Gorgon abilities, so naturally, she would want to be an official one. My brother and I bet that she can learn everything that there is for a genin to learn, and pass the exam by the time the next one rolls around."

"But that's crazy! The next genin exam is in less than a year!" Shizune exclaimed.

"So you think it's impossible?" Goudon asked, raising an eyebrow, before going back to writing everything that the deal entailed onto a scroll.

"Definitely!" Shizune nodded vigorously, then slapped a palm against her forehead when she realized what she'd just done.

_Now Tsunade-sama thinks it's a bet that she's sure to win,_ Shizune thought regretfully.

"Stakes," Tsunade said calmly.

"For us, when Pooriin becomes a genin, she'll replace the girl on our team, Hitsuzen Akumika, who is already a chuunin and hates us anyway," Goudon said easily.

"_If_ Pooriin becomes a genin," Tsunade corrected smoothly, "However, if I win, your team gets only D-rank missions for a year, and you two are restricted from joining any chuunin exams within that year. Pooriin also will have to undergo an extra six months of emotional training with Shibi-san."

The Chatora siblings shared glances; Pooriin looked worried, but Goudon and Bikto seemed ready.

"...I think that's fair," Bikto nodded, holding out a hand to the Hokage.

Tsunade shook his hand, and she and the three Chatora signed their names onto the contract that Goudon wrote up as participants of the bet, while Shizune reluctantly signed as witness, along with Genma who they found passing by in the hallway.

And so Pooriin's learning began. Her inability to use ninjutsu and chakra would be taken into account, just as it had when Rock Lee had become a genin. She would be tested mainly on intellect and taijutsu; she had about nine months to prepare. So prepare she did, from early morning, to by the time it got dark in the evening.

All in all, the three original portal-users were having the most difficult times of their lives. The three months were passing, and everyone was preparing frantically for the changes.

Deniizu had been secretly taking her belongings from Michiko's room; when Hana had moved all of the items from the apartment, she had also taken Deniizu's things. Every day, while Michiko was training with Inel, Korii, Team 8, or at the hospital, Deniizu would slip into the Inuzuka household and take one or two items that were hers.

Not that Michiko didn't notice; she had arranged everything in a cluttered, but recognizable way around the room. Though Deniizu tried to make it seem as if she had never been there, Michiko always saw how objects were rearranged whenever she came back home.

For instance...

_"Kiba, were you in my room again?" Michiko yelled through her open doorway, towards where Kiba was in his own room._

_"I told you already, I never go into your room!" Kiba yelled back across the hallway, "Maybe it was Hana."_

_"Don't pull me into your argument!" Hana yelled from her own room down the hall._

_"Mom! Was it you?" Kiba called, sticking his head out through doorway and facing the opposite way that Hana's room was in, towards the kitchen where Tsume was._

_"You know I try to avoid ever going into any of your rooms!" Tsume yelled back, stirring something on the stove, "I never know what booby traps you've put up, just for the fun of it!"_

_"Fine!" Michiko yelled, "Never mind."_

_...It has to be Deniizu-san, Michi-chan,__ Aramis said._

_Yeah, it's always her stuff that goes missing,__ Porthos added._

_Michiko nodded, but frowned._

_"But why doesn't she just ask for her things?" Michiko thought out loud._

_It's Denise,__ D'Artagnan pointed out flatly, and Michiko couldn't help but laugh._

_"Yeah, that's true. She probably prefers the cool method of stealing everything back."_

And to the present...

Two days before Michiko had to leave for Suna, she and Korii walked home with the four dogs after seeing Inel to the village main gate.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, going to Suna on your own?" Korii asked, for the fourth time.

They reached the corner where they had to part ways, and Korii looked at his younger teammate sternly. He and Deniizu would be leaving the next day to accompany Inel with observing a mission in a nearby village. Attending to the mission would prevent all three of them from escorting Michiko to Suna, and though she was going with the Sand Siblings, none of them were happy that the future medical nin would be alone with three strangers. This applied especially for Korii; he could be more protective than Michiko, when it came to the members of Team 13.

"I'm not alone, I've got four ninken dogs, and I can fall asleep while locked into my stone form, now," Michiko sighed, "It's hard to activate, but once I've become stone, I can stay that way forever if I want to; it doesn't take any chakra to maintain. I'll be fine."

"Unless the attacker has a lightning-based jutsu," Korii pointed out, "Earth is weak to lightning."

"Then I'll become air. Big deal," Michiko shrugged.

"It _is_ a big deal, for you. You still have trouble with that form."

"Goodbye, Korii," Michiko grinned, walking away with her dogs, "I'll be fine. If the three Sand shinobi don't help me, I'll wing it or something; I'll think Denise-like thoughts."

"Fine," Korii rolled his eyes, "Good luck with that. See you in a month!"

Michiko waved to him, and Korii waved back after the dogs had barked their farewell. He waited at that corner, until Michiko passed out of sight, then ran full tilt towards the training field. At a certain barrel by the ramen stall, which was on his way, Korii snatched up the hidden new backpack that he had bought just a couple weeks earlier; the knapsack held all of the essentials he needed for a long-term travel.

_Tonight's the night that Deniizu leaves with Itachi,_ Korii thought to himself, remembering the plans he had eavesdropped on, and putting on an extra burst of speed, _They're going to catch up to Kisame, who's gone ahead, and then they're going to leave. I hope I'm not too late._

_I'm not _that_ stupid, _Michiko thought, using chakra to run as quickly and quietly as possible behind Korii, following him, _You never watch me walk away. You always continue walking. What're you up to?_

So, Michiko follows Korii who follows Deniizu who follows Itachi...

"About time, Deniizu," Itachi said, once Deniizu came to the training field where he had been waiting, "You're late."

"I thought I saw an ANBU behind me, so I had to make a slight detour," Deniizu explained, thinking about the merry chase she had led the ninja on for the better part of 45 minutes.

"Moving along," Itachi said shortly, "Let's hurry. I can sense somebody hiding nearby."

"Fine," Deniizu shrugged, and she and Itachi made ready to jump into the trees.

"Stop!" a voice rang out in the dark.

Deniizu winced and Itachi frowned as Korii jumped into view. Deniizu had been very late, and since Korii knew exactly what time they had planned on leaving, though he was late, he had still arrived before she had.

"It was you who was hiding...Did you tell him, Deniizu?" Itachi asked sharply.

"What do you think of me? Of course not," Deniizu answered, but she didn't look entirely angry with Korii's presence, which Itachi noticed.

"You're leaving?" Korii asked, more for clarification than anything else.

"Yeah," Deniizu nodded, "...You going to stop me?"

"...Nah," Korii answered after a moment, "I'm going with you."

"I'll have to object to that," Itachi said sternly, "Too many people may give away our position."

"Four people isn't too many," Korii pointed out, "It's actually the maximum amount of people for optimum performance in a ninja team. Let me go with you."

"We don't need you," Itachi said bluntly, cutting off Deniizu before she could speak on Korii's behalf.

"You can't watch her all the time," Korii pointed out, "You and Kisame-san will have business and missions of your own to deal with that Deniizu can't be a part of. That means that you'll have to leave her alone and vulnerable. If I'm with you, I'll act as Deniizu's bodyguard. Take me with you."

_'Bodyguard'? ...I like the sound of that,_ Deniizu thought.

_'Bodyguard'? ...I don't think I like that sound of that, _Itachi thought.

"Your family will search for you," Itachi argued, "They won't let someone with your bloodline limit get away too easily."

"Maybe they'll search, maybe they won't," Korii shrugged, "I'm the dropout of the family, as far as they can see. And they'd probably just send a few ANBU, or put up a reward; that's less than what's after Deniizu."

"Itachi-kun," Deniizu interrupted, when she saw her favourite missing nin open his mouth to protest again, "Just let him come. If he gets caught, that's his fault and he knows it. He's telling the truth; if he comes with us, there will be an extra pair of eyes and hands while we travel. And he knows a lot of good places to stay for shelter in the Fire Country and Suna."

Itachi looked sternly at his girlfriend, but already he could see that she wanted the Hyuuga to travel with them.

_We're wasting time here,_ Itachi thought irritably, _Damn Korii...Kisame must be impatient by now, waiting for us. We have to leave, and Deniizu won't if Korii doesn't come now._

"Fine," Itachi growled, already turning to leave, "He can come. Let's go."

"Go where?" a girl's voice called out in the darkness.

All three of the ninja turned, and saw Michiko slowly materialise from her air form onto the road just behind Korii. The four dogs were sitting high in the trees, silently watching.

"Where are you going?" Michiko asked seriously, looking from Itachi, to Deniizu, then to Korii.

_Crap,_ Deniizu cursed inwardly, _She's in her 'mom mode' again._

"The Akatsuki's after Deniizu," Korii answered bluntly, "She has to go into hiding."

"_You're _Akatsuki," Michiko said, looking at Itachi now, "So is that companion of yours...the fish guy."

"I'm also self-sworn to protect Deniizu," Itachi said in a monotone, "Much like how you are self-sworn to just about everybody around you," he added, making it sound like an insult. Which it probably was, to a heartless Akatsuki member.

"And you're just going to leave?" Michiko asked Deniizu, ignoring Itachi's insinuated jibe; the Uchiha had always scorned the way Michiko wanted to help others.

"Hell, yes," Deniizu grinned, "I'm not passing up this chance for anything."

"Your chance at power?" Michiko raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Deniizu nodded.

_Something's wrong,_ Itachi thought, _Normally, Michiko would be in a complete tantrum. She's too calm._

_She's not letting me into her head!_ Deniizu thought, struggling with getting into Michiko's mind, _What is this?_

_She's terrified,_ Korii realised, seeing the tips of Michiko's fingers fluctuate between gray and tan, _She's trying not to turn into stone. What has her so freaked out?_

"...You really are leaving?" Michiko asked sadly, crossing her arms tightly to keep them from shaking, "You're just going to go, and leave all of us behind?"

"Not true," Korii cut in, "I'm going too."

"You're going too," Michiko murmured thoughtfully.

Korii saw all of Michiko's hands, and the tips of her ears switch briefly to stone before they were flesh again; now he understood her fear. Itachi, using his Sharingan, saw that Michiko was trembling silently, but not obviously enough for the naked eye to see.

"...You're both leaving me," Michiko whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"Hey," Deniizu said seriously, "Michiko. This is my big chance! I can go out and meet stronger enemies; I can train harder and better than I would be allowed to here in Konoha. I can finally get strong enough to...you know. I _have_ to take this chance. This may be my only one."

"...sure," Michiko thought out loud, then after a pause, she looked Itachi straight in the eyes, "Itachi-san, I would appreciate if you and Korii-kun walked ahead. I have something to tell Deniizu; it will only take a moment, I promise you."

Itachi glanced over Michiko, thinking over her proposal, then finally nodded and began to walk down the road, out of Konoha. Korii looked at Michiko, and both of them met eye contact for a moment. Corey of their old dimension was able to have some conversations will certain people through simple eye contact, and Korii of Konoha had his Byakugan to make communication even easier. He saw that all Michiko wanted was for Deniizu to be safe during the journey, and he assured Michiko that he would do his best to play the part. Finally, the white-eyed 17-year-old turned and went to follow Itachi.

Michiko took four steps forward, until she was right in front of Deniizu. The green-eyed girl raised her eyebrows when Michiko didn't speak for a moment; she was anxious to get on the road.

"When I say this, I don't mean it to be rude, an attack, or to get you to stay here; I already know that you'll go no matter what I say."

"Good; I'm glad we have an understanding. Now, what is it?"

"...Your run for power to kill somebody, your neglect of care for someone that loves you and that you once loved...you're becoming Sasuke."

"...Like..._Sasuke_?" Deniizu asked after a moment, her voice shaking slightly with rage; she did her best to keep her temper in check, "How can you...no. No, I'm nothing like him."

"Yeah," Michiko grimaced, putting her hands on her hips slowly, looking Deniizu straight in the eye, "Your 'Ino', Itachi, is going with you, as is Korii, your 'Sakura'. You get everything you want."

"Says the girl that was the village favourite, got the first job that she ever applied for, has four dogs, got adopted into her favourite clan, and is dating her dream boy!" Deniizu retorted angrily, narrowing her eyes, "Don't be a hypo-"

"And she's never going to see her best friend again," Michiko interrupted quietly, completely silencing Deniizu, "Not that her best friend cares, of course."

"...I _do_ care," Deniizu mumbled, looking away, "I'm _not_ like Sasuke."

Michiko only looked at Deniizu silently, then half-smiled, much to Deniizu's surprise.

"I give your trip my blessing," Michiko said, bowing to her friend, "You won't listen to me if I tell you to stay; at least you know now that I think your leaving is stupid. All I ask is that you listen to Korii's advice, and remember that our extended time here ends in six months. Can I trust you with that?"

"...I'll remember," Deniizu nodded, then hesitated and gave Michiko a rare hug, saying in an even rarer gentle voice, "And I won't be like Sasuke. After all, Sasuke never meant to come back."

Michiko blinked, then stared at Deniizu when she drew back.

"That's true..." Michiko nodded, a slow smile appearing on both their faces, "He never did."

* * *

Michiko: You're leaving me! Both of you!

Korii: Michiko, it's not your fault; you're a really nice person.

Deniizu: It's not you. It's us.

Korii: This gives us a chance to see other people. ...And not each other...

Itachi: ...Why must you three sound like you're breaking up?

Michiko: I feel dumped...

Itachi: Yes, you were dumped. Get over it.

Michiko: You're cruel! (bursts into tears)

Kisame: Itachi-san, I admire your patience. I really do. But I think the readers want a chance to review.


	4. Another Goodbye

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, misplaced lectures, missing nin, etc., etc.

Shino: Don't you have exams for school in a few weeks?

Ruroni: ya so?/

Shino: You should be studying. Both of you.

Esperwen: Hey, you're in this chapter, so I wouldn't complain.

Shino: Don't threaten me. I'm just saying that you should be studying since those exams pretty much mean life and death to both of you.

Ruroni: shut up im not gonna study1!

* * *

**Chapter Four: Another Goodbye**

Early, the day before Michiko was due to leaving for Suna, a bit of a scene was forming on the Satoki doorstep.

"THEY WHAT?"

Michiko and her dogs winced while Inel started yelling at _them_ for how irresponsible and foolish the two runaway genins were for leaving with a missing nin of Itachi's reputation. Michiko had gotten up early to tell her teacher what had happened to the rest of Team 13, and he wasn't happy with the news. However, though Michiko understood why her sensei was so upset, she did not appreciate the fact that _she_ was getting yelled at for poor prioritizing, not Korii and Deniizu. She waited about 10 minutes, but when the lecture didn't seem to stop, Michiko finally tried to speak up.

"Uh...sir?"

"I can no _believe_ it! How can they be doing that?"

"Inel-sensei?"

"After all of these training, I had the thought that they would have been knowing better!"

"Sensei..."

"Have you no idea of much of this trouble they will be in?"

"Sensei! That's just the point!" Michiko exclaimed, exasperated.

"...What is these point?" Inel finally stopped ranting for a moment, suddenly realizing that he was out of breath.

"Nako..."

Michiko rolled her eyes, and even Athos, who was the most polite of the pack, seemed annoyed with the teacher.

"If any ninja leaves their village without the Hokage's permission, they're immediately considered missing nins, remember, sensei?"

"Oh! Is right! Oh no!" Inel clapped a hand on his forehead, thinking for a moment, then motioned for Michiko to follow him as he hurried down the road, "Come. We must go and convince the Hokage that she must no make them the missing nin. If this happens, the ANBU will try and to follow them where they go, and these Akatsuki will be so close behind. We can no let this happen!"

One day later

Akamaru woke up the next morning, yawned, then started pawing at Kiba's face to wake him up so that the white dog could be fed.

"No..." Kiba mumbled, rolling over in his sleep, "We just ordered our cheeseburgers..."

Humans have such predictable dreams, Akamaru thought out loud, then started pawing at his friend's face again, Wake up, Kiba-kun! I'm hungry!

"...ketchup..." Kiba mumbled, shortly before sitting up and rubbing his eyes, still half asleep, "Ugh...Akamaru, bug off."

Food first, bugging off later, Akamaru said, jumping down from the bed to the floor and heading towards the kitchen, pulling a corner of Kiba's bedspread along with him.

Kiba dragged himself out of bed and went to the bathroom before joining Akamaru in the kitchen. Through the haze of half-sleep, he thought he heard the doorbell, but ignored it, knowing that his mother or Hana would probably get it. However, after about eight rings, he remembered that the both of them were on a mission, and with a mild expletive, he went and opened the front door.

"Whaddaya want?" Kiba growled, not even bothering to greet whoever it was when he opened the door.

"You never were a morning person," Shino mused calmly, and Kiba glared at him.

"Welcome back from the mission and all that crap," Kiba grumbled, too tired to care about propriety, "Whaddaya want?"

"For starters, is Michiko up?" Shino asked, his politeness in stark contrast with Kiba's discourtesy, "When Pooriin arrived for her training, earlier, she said that today was Michiko's last day in Konoha for a while."

Suddenly, Kiba was wide awake, and he looked at his friend carefully, trying to be considerate (for a change) of Shino's emotions. Thinking back, Kiba tried to recall the few lectures Michiko had given him and Deniizu about reading Shino's body language; often, after they had annoyed Shino into a sulk, Michiko would tell them off. Unfortunately, remembering the lectures took time; both Kiba and Deniizu only half-listened anyway. After a minute or two of examining the young bug-user, Kiba remembered that Shino's jaw muscles were a good indicator of anything; he noticed that a muscle on Shino's jaw was extremely taut.

"Oh yeah, you just found out today," Kiba realized, nodding to himself, thinking, _Huh. Shino's more tense than usual. Meaning more anal. Now, how do I use this to my advantage? ...wait, no, Michiko said to be considerate._

"Is she awake?" Shino asked again, this time not quite so calm.

"I think...she usually gets up early in this world," Kiba answered, walking towards Michiko's room and motioning for Shino to follow, then saying once they reached the room, "Uh...don't look. It's ok if _I_ open the door, since I'm her brother, but you..."

"Just knock already," Shino interrupted curtly.

Kiba smirked at Shino's unsettled attitude, then knocked on Michiko's door.

"Hey, Michiko? You up yet?" Kiba called through the closed door.

No answer came, and Kiba tried knocking three more times before cautiously opening the door and peeking in.

"Michiko?" Kiba threw the door wide to reveal an empty bedroom, "Crap, she's gone! Look, even the bags she packed are gone!"

"Where would she go?" Shino asked urgently, already starting towards the front door.

"Uh...Pooriin or Hinata's house," Kiba answered, hurrying into his room and speed-changing from his pyjamas, "I'll go to Pooriin's...wait, but Pooriin's at your place for training. Aw, I knew it! She said goodbye last night so that she could get an early start today, didn't she?"

Kiba stumbled into the hallway, still pulling on his shirt, and had just grabbed his coat and been joined by Akamaru, when he realized that Shino was already gone.

"...I guess it's no hurry for me," Kiba said to Akamaru after a moment, "She and Shino still need to talk."

You still haven't fed me, Akamaru reminded, and Kiba sighed before following him back to the kitchen.

Hn...I'm hungry too. Kiba, feed me.

"It's too bad I'll be missing your birthday, Hinata," Michiko was saying at that moment, giving her friend a hug, "But I'll make sure to send you something in three weeks."

"That's not the way for you to think today," Hinata reprimanded, looking at her friend unhappily, "Today's your day; you've turned thirteen, and you're going to become a medical nin!"

"Even then...Aw, I'm gonna miss you!" Michiko exclaimed, hurrying forward with her dogs for another hug.

"Me too!" Hinata agreed, half laughing, half with a choked voice.

"...Ok, that's enough hugging," Michiko grinned lopsidedly, trying to swallow a sob, "I have to leave before someone catches me in your room; you're supposed to be meditating!"

Hinata nodded, then her lip trembled and she grabbed her friend in another hug.

"I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss _you!_"

"...it's not like I'm dying!" Michiko exclaimed after a moment, patting the sides of her face lightly as if trying to wake herself up, "I'll be back!"

"Right," Hinata nodded, taking a step backwards.

"Exactly," Michiko agreed, adjusting her bookbag with the medical kit inside it, the small suitcase with half of all her clothes inside it, and the violin case she had on her back.

"Everything will be fine," Hinata added, helping Aramis and Porthos, who were the smallest dogs, onto the window sill so that they could jump across the rooftops to the trees easier.

"Definitely."

Michiko looked at Hinata, and Hinata looked at Michiko. It was time to go.

"...OkI'llseeyoubye!" Michiko jumped out of the window and hurried away, not looking back.

"Bye," Hinata called, her voice catching, and she sat down hard on her bed, "...be careful..."

_Everyone is disappearing,_ Hinata thought sadly, _First Naruto-kun, then Pooriin-chan is so busy, then Deniizu-san and Korii-niichan run away, and now Michi-chan has to study. ...Who's next?_

Who, indeed?

"It's just teen angst," Michiko thought out loud, trying to keep herself from going into hysterics, "I'll be back soon! It's just stupid teen angst!"

That's the 12th time she's said that, Porthos grumbled, running beside Michiko with his brothers.

That's the 11th time you've said something like that, D'Artagnan pointed out.

That's the last time I let you two say something stupid like that without biting you! Aramis growled, and the other two dogs quieted themselves.

The five of them were running along the rooftops, and after signing out at the Hokage's office not 10 minutes ago, they were now on their way to catch up to the Sand siblings at the village gates, and head to Suna.

"Guys, lay off of each other," Michiko scolded lightly, "We have a long trip ahead of us, and it would be better if you all tried to behave."

Ok, ok, D'Artagnan sighed.

Athos was the only one silent; he was still thinking about early that morning.

* * *

_Michiko walked with Pooriin, early on the day that she was due to leave for her apprenticeship. That day was also when Aburame Shibi and Shino were due back from their mission._

_"What's happening with Deniizu and Korii?" Pooriin asked, while they walked, her arm tightly linked with Michiko's._

_"Inel-sensei and I managed to talk Tsunade-sama around making them missing nins," Michiko answered, "When she heard that the Akatsuki were after Deniizu, she willingly accepted to let their status simply become 'extended absence'."_

_"Because the Akatsuki's after Naruto, too, right?" Pooriin asked, and when Michiko nodded, she added, "I'm glad. I hope they're ok."_

_"Of course they are," Michiko half-smiled, "It's Itachi, Deniizu, Korii, and Kisame. I pity those who try to bother them, actually."_

_Pooriin laughed, and both of them walked in companionable silence with each other. Having travelled with each other before, both in this world and the other, they both knew that one didn't always need to talk with companions to make a journey enjoyable._

_"...This is it," Michiko sighed, once they arrived at the Aburame household for Pooriin's training._

_"You're actually leaving," Pooriin nodded morosely, "...I hope your trip is safe."_

_"Me too," Michiko laughed, though it sounded forced._

_"...You're not going to wait for Shino?" Pooriin asked quietly._

_"No," Michiko shook her head, "I don't know when he'll come back, and it's a three day journey to the Hidden Sand. I need as much distance covered each day as I can get. He'll understand, I know it."_

_"And you don't want any more goodbyes, huh?" Pooriin asked._

* * *

Michi-chan, Athos said, running right beside Michiko along the buildings of Konoha, Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to Shino-san?

"...It's not that I don't want to, Atho-kun," Michiko said quietly, "It's just..." her voice trailed off, and she slowed her run to a stop.

The black-haired girl sighed, then jumped down to the street and sat down onto a crate with a thump.

"Life sucks," Michiko growled.

Now would be a good time to say something about 'teen angst' again, Porthos grinned, only to get nipped on the ear by Aramis.

"Hey, guys! I thought I told you to behave?" Michiko said, when the mottled and black dogs began to wrestle with each other, "Hey! You two! ...Come on, pups, break it up!"

Michiko knelt beside the two dogs and did her best to pull them apart, but neither dog was willing to give up; after a few minutes, D'Artagnan and even Athos jumped into the fray, much to Michiko's annoyance. Just when she was thinking of joining the fight herself, a polite cough was heard up in a neighbouring roof, and looking up, Michiko and the Four Musketeers saw Shino standing there. The girl quickly stood up, and Shino jumped down to land lightly on the ground.

"Um...hey! Your mission's over?" Michiko asked lamely, while Shino walked towards her.

"I thought I left you a memo that today I'd be back," Shino answered, stopping when he was just in front of her.

"I must've missed it," Michiko said, looking down to the side, not needing to see from his body language or tone of voice that he wasn't happy with her.

Shino narrowed his eyes at her, then, realizing that she couldn't see it, he suddenly pointed angrily at her, so that his finger was just an inch away from her eyes, startling her.

"You were just going to leave?" he asked incredulously, his low voice rumbling, "What is wrong with you? You said you would explain all your disappearing and reappearing, and instead, you leave Pooriin behind to tell me what was going on, while you went running away again!"

_...'running away'...excellent choice of words,_ Michiko thought, _I feel completely pathetic now._

"There was a lot of ground to cover-" Michiko started, not properly pronouncing her words.

"You have three whole days, and they don't expect you until the fifth anyway," Shino reminded, recalling what Pooriin had told him.

"It's because the late Kazekage's children-" Michiko tried again.

"You're leaving _early,_" Shino interrupted curtly, "You had time to spare; you could have waited."

"I don't see what the problem is," Michiko mumbled, "Pooriin told you, so now you know why I've been gone so much."

"That's not the point, and you know that," Shino growled, "I wanted to hear from _you_, not..." he struggled for a proper describing word.

Michiko took a deep breath and looked up at Shino levelly.

"From me, not...?" Michiko prompted.

"Not..." Shino sighed, his former anger now spent, "Not Kiba's pink girlfriend."

Michiko started, somewhat surprised, then couldn't help but laugh at Shino's resigned tone of voice.

"'Kiba's pink girlfriend', huh?" Michiko grinned throwing her arms around her boyfriend in a hug, "I haven't heard Rini-chan called _that_ before."

"It's a logical description," Shino argued in a friendly way, "She's dating Kiba, and she always wears pink."

"Of course," Michiko chuckled, resting her head against Shino's chest, "...You're such a dork sometimes," she said affectionately.

You'll get cooties, like that! D'Artagnan barked mischieviously, only to be tackled by Athos and Aramis.

"My dorkiness aside," Shino rolled his eyes, before readjusting the hug so that his arms were over Michiko's, "Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I..." Michiko's smile faded, and she looked down at the ground timidly, "I just didn't want..." a wince flashed across Michiko's face, and she took a deep breath before speaking in a rush, "It's hard for me to say goodbye. Especially with so many people at once. And...especially with you. You and Pooriin had the emotional training, not me. I'm still weak in that respect."

Shino stroked Michiko's cheek gently, then shook his head.

"I'm not the only dork here," he said softly.

Haha, it's a couple of dorks! ...that's a funny word, 'dork'.

Watching from above the main gate, Kiba and Akamaru saw Michiko and her four dogs land softly onto the road just a few meters ahead of the three Sand shinobi, as soon as they finished saying goodbye to Shikamaru, who was seeing them off. Soon, after Temari spoke one final time to Shikamaru, all three of them joined Michiko.

"Good morning," Michiko volunteered shyly, subconsciously touching the violin case strapped to her back while she made a slight bow.

"Ohayo," Temari smiled, while Kankurou smirked in the background and Gaara nodded silently, "You ready?"

"...Yeah," Michiko grinned weakly, after taking a deep breath, and stepping to the side, she let Temari lead the way while she trailed in the back behind Gaara.

"See you, sis," Kiba saluted quietly, "Be safe."

Akamaru was not so subtle; just before Michiko passed out of sight, he threw his head back and howled as loud and long as he could. Kiba joined him, just for the fun of it, and when he finished, he couldn't help but grin at his friend's reaction: five howls were heard in response.

* * *

Pooriin: (points) Ha! You're a dork! 

Michiko: Leave me alone...

Pooriin: Esperwen called you a dork, and she usually likes fluff! That makes you an uberdork!

Michiko: (notices the readers, covers her face) Shut up! People are watching!

Pooriin: Dorky, dorky, dork-dork! Hahahahaha!

Michiko: I'm not here. I'm sitting in a tree in Konoha, reading a book. Happily.

Pooriin: Happily having another dorky moment with Shino! HA!

Michiko: (to reader) Why are you still reading this! Write a review, if you have so much spare time!

Pooriin: DORK!

Michiko: Shut up!

Pooriin: MICHIKO IS AN UBERDORK!

Michiko: Nako...


	5. Friendly Advice

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, any pairings affiliated (aww...), a really quick timeskip, meditation, skipping training for a date, bipolar-ness, the lack of chivalry nowadays, etc. etc.

Ruroni: special thanks to mitasco, summer-loven-2, and libaka 4 the constant reviewing1

Esperwen: Uh...yeah, my co-writer is incompetant, so that '1' is supposed to be an exclamation point.

Ruroni: hey i like the way i write so shutup!

Esperwen: Oh, good, you put a proper ! that time.

Ruroni: bithc

Esperwen: Look, you even spelled _that_ wrong!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Friendly Advice**

Three weeks since Michiko had left, Hinata sat on the floor in her room, just finishing her morning meditation. Having always been a quiet, patient person, Hinata enjoyed the day's first hour, when she was allowed to sit silently and calm her thoughts with her mantra. She wouldn't want to spend all her time meditating, but she was always happy during the time that was set apart for just herself. She was a definite polar opposite to a certain blonde-haired, loudmouth ninja, but as we all know, that's one reason why she liked him so much.

* * *

_"Aw, it's like he completes you!" Pooriin teased once._

_"Just like how Kiba just makes you louder," Deniizu teased back in Hinata's defense, after seeing Hinata turn completely bright red._

* * *

Glancing at her clock, Hinata quickly got up and hurried to get dressed for the day; Team 8 had group training before they would go to the Hokage's building to be assigned their next mission. Stepping behind the screen that was set up in her room, and getting changed, she glanced at the wall that was hidden there from view. There, she had pinned up the letters that had been sent to her by Michiko; she already had fifteen posted up. Michiko had started sending letters to her friends in Konoha as soon as she had arrived in Suna; Hinata, Pooriin, and the Inuzuka household had been visited daily by either a hawk, crow, or simply by the postman about five days after Michiko had left. 

'My sensei's name is Kazuma,' the first letter said, 'He's related to Takona, the elder from the Tea Village!' and later, '...Though she asks a lot of questions about Shikamaru, Temari really is becoming a good friend...'

'...Kankurou scared a few kids with one of his puppets,' another letter read, 'The jerk...he said that he did it because they kept asking what it was like to be a genin already. You can tell that he really doesn't like kids, because he said he thought they were annoying and needed to be taught a lesson. Some harsh lesson! Athos almost bit him when he heard that...'

'Happy birthday, Hina-chan!' the latest letter said; Hinata had received it three days early, 'I'm sorry I can't be there, but I hope you like the ink brush set I sent you. I know that you'll put them to good use; I love your ink paintings!"

_I hope Michi-chan finds more friends,_ Hinata thought, looking at a letter beside a very unflattering caricature of Kankurou.

'I miss Konoha so much...it isn't as friendly here, and even the other medical nins seem rather cold,' the letter said, 'Temari's been nice, as well as Kazuma, and Kankurou's been okay, but he loves to tease me, and sometimes it's in...shall we say 'bad taste'? Especially when he heard that I was acquainted (just acquainted! Imagine if he knew we were dating!) with Shino. A lot of the people here don't trust me since I'm from another village. Maybe because one of the contestants that didn't get the apprenticeship was a well-known Sand shinobi. And it's hard for me to make friends if nobody comes forward; Pooriin and Deniizu have always done the talking, and you make me feel braver when you're around, Hinata.'

_She doesn't even have very much time to go out and meet people,_ Hinata thought, pulling on her coat as she headed out of her room and down the hall, _Her training lasts until nighttime, and people our age are either training or on missions if they're out at all by then._

Later, at Team 8's training field...

"Good morning, Hinata," Kurenai greeted, once the pale-eyed girl had arrived in Team 8's personal training field.

"Ohayo, sensei," Hinata smiled, then added when she saw they were alone, "Um...am I early?"

"No, you're on time," Kurenai answered, "But I'm dismissing Team 8 for today; you three have a day off."

"Oh...ano...is there any particular reason?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"No...well, I'll admit that I have an appointment to keep today, but there is no official reason," Kurenai said, looking away, embarassed, but after a moment she smiled at Hinata again, "We might as well get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata."

"O-okay," Hinata nodded, with a small smile, and she and her teacher parted ways.

So much for training...

"Another free day..." Shino grumbled, examining a few of his kikaichu in a distracted fashion.

"Another complaint," Kiba growled, and Akamaru barked his agreement.

Hinata shook her head at the two boys and looked around the Ichiraku Ramen bar. All three of them were seated in a row, with Kiba sitting right beside the wall, and Hinata in the middle; the heiress had found them there after leaving the training field. None of them were very hungry, but Hinata had bought a bowl out of courtesy to the shop owner, and the three friends and Akamaru were sharing the ramen while they sat in the stall.

"You three are rather grumpy," Ayame, the ramen stall owner's daughter, said from behind the counter, "What's wrong?"

"...Just a bad day," Kiba answered darkly, before chewing on another mouthful of ramen, and slipping a few noodles to Akamaru.

"Really?" Ayame asked skeptically, then added almost innocently while drying a bowl, "Where's Pooriin-chan been? I haven't seen her in a long time."

A nerve popped on Kiba's forehead, and for a moment Hinata was worried that he would have an angry fit. However, Kiba merely chewed on a slice of fish cake and said nothing. Ayame had seen the nerve, though, and she smiled to herself quietly.

"She's been training," Hinata answered, when she saw that Kiba was going to remain silent.

"We all just have nothing to do," Shino said quietly, "Anybody can be irritable when bored."

"Well, I have an idea for something to do," Ayame said cheerfully.

"What?" Kiba asked, he and his teammates suddenly interested.

"Gossip!" Ayame answered triumphantly, and completely missed Team 8's disappointed looks while she continued, "Hearing about rumours never becomes boring; there's always something floating around!"

"Did I just hear the word 'gossip'?" a familiar girl's voice asked from outside the stall.

_Oh great... _Shino thought, hurrying his kikaichu back up his sleeves for safekeeping.

_Here we go,_ Hinata sighed inwardly, eating a little bit more of the ramen.

_Please say it isn't... _Kiba started thinking,sharing a look with Akamaru.

"Ugh...the ramen stall?" a boy's voice asked.

"Let's go in and order a bowl!" another boy's voice suggested enthusiastically.

"Troublesome..." the first boy complained quietly.

_It is,_ Kiba thought, putting his head down on the table, _I'm not in the mood for this team..._

"Ayame-chan! How _are_ you?" Ino asked sweetly, her long, platinum blonde hair trailing behind her like a banner as she entered the stall, then yelled in a completely different voice over her shoulder, "Shikamaru! Hurry up, you slacker!"

"Ino-chan! I'm doing just fine!" Ayame greeted cheerfully, ignoring that the girl in front of her seemed a little bipolar, "How has your team been lately? I haven't seen you in so long!"

"We're all right, Ayame-chan," Chouji greeted, walking into the stall and sitting in the closest available seat, which was right beside Shino, "How's your father been? And...I'll have the usual."

_Huh...Team 10 has a free day as well,_ Shino thought, _So their sensei, Asuma-san, must also be busy today...this is suspicious._

"Four bowls, coming right up," Ayame smiled, then said over her shoulder while she fixed the order, "Otou-san isn't very well; he's been little tired lately. That's why I'm filling in for him today; he was feeling rather poorly this morning."

"I hope he gets better soon," Chouji said solemnly.

"He makes the best ramen in Konoha, after all," Shikamaru smiled lazily, entering the stall and taking the seat beside Chouji, before Ino could sit down.

"WHAT'D YOU TAKE MY SEAT FOR?" Ino bellowed, waving her arms angrily, "THAT ISN'T HOW YOU TREAT A GIRL!"

"Mendokusai..." Shikamaru yawned in a bored fashion, "Lay off, Ino."

"Those two have been like that since they were toddlers," Kiba observed, not bothering to lift his head from the table.

"I remember Ino saying the exact same thing on our first day at the Academy," Shino recalled.

"And I still remember that!" Ino exclaimed, pointing at Shino as if it were his fault, "I wanted to sit beside Sasuke-kun, but Shikamaru got there before me. And then Chouji sat down on the other side!"

"Yeah, he gave us candy as a thank you the next day," Chouji grinned, while Ayame placed his ramen in front of him, "Mm...beef ramen...itadakimasu!" he said cheerfully, then split his chopsticks and began to eat.

"Ugh, your eating so much disgusts me," Ino sighed, then remembered why she entered the ramen stall in the first place, "Anyways...Shino. I heard Ayame-chan here say gossip, which reminded me of something Sakura said to me while I walked with her from a day of working at the hospital about two months ago."

"Was it that she hated your guts and wished you would die?" Kiba guessed abruptly, earning a smile from all the other genins except Ino.

"No!" Ino snapped, a scowl on her face, then smoothed her features and looked thoughtful, "Well, yes, she did say that, but that's not what I wanted to say. No, Sakura mentioned that Shino and Michiko were dating."

Shino flinched visibly, but Hinata and Chouji were the only ones who noticed, while Ino continued on.

"Really?" Ayame asked, surprised, and turned to Shino for clarification, "Shino-kun, is that true?"

Shino winced, and after a moment of tense silence, both gossipers realized that Sakura had been telling the truth.

"Kyaaa! I need to tell somebody!" Ino squealed, then pulled Shikamaru by the elbow out of the ramen stall to tell the next kunoichi she recognized on the street the news.

"Shino-kun, I had no idea!" Ayame exclaimed, clasping her hands together, with stars in her eyes, "Whenever you two came here it was always so...but that's ok! You're both really, really kawaii together! I'm happy for you!"

"I'm leaving," Shino announced shortly, almost before the pretty shopkeeper was finished speaking; if Hinata didn't know better, she would say that his voice had cracked from sudden stress.

Without another word, the young bug host rose and left the stall with as much dignity as he could, without looking like he was stomping away in a huff. The stars in Ayame's eyes did not fade, though, and she washed another load of bowls, silently daydreaming about Shino and Michiko's future together.

_Oh no..._Hinata winced, _Shino-kun wanted their relationship to be a secret._

"Damn Ino...Shino's going to sulk for so long..." Kiba growled, he and Akamaru getting up and hurrying after the older boy.

"...I think Ino could have handled that better," Chouji said quietly, looking at Hinata in the corner of his eye while still eating his ramen, "Don't hold her tongue against her; Asuma-sensei always calls her a trash talker, with good reason."

"Hai..." Hinata smiled weakly, then after hesitating, she pushed her half-full bowl towards Chouji, "Ano...would you...?"

"Sure, I'll take it!" Chouji beamed, finishing off his third bowl and taking Hinata's.

Hinata got up to leave the stall and find her two best male friends, but Chouji spoke up again.

"Oi, Hinata."

At the large boy's voice, though she wanted to hurry, Hinata stopped and turned towards him to listen politely.

"Is it true that Deniizu-san, Michiko-chan, and Korii-senpai have all left Konoha?"

Hinata looked down, and nodded silently.

"...I'm sorry...I know how Team 13 and 8 were really close...I guess it must feel really bad for all of you, huh?"

Chouji looked up at Hinata, and took the sad look on her face as his answer.

"...I can't say I know how you feel, but I can imagine, and it isn't very pleasant," Chouji said gently, then added slowly, "I know this isn't a good time for you, but there's no saying when I'll see you again, so I'll tell you this now: Kiba's lost a sister and two friends, Shino's lost a mentor and two special friends, and you've lost three very close companions. But you still have each other. Now would be the perfect time for you three to strengthen your friendships with each other. I've seen you three at a distance these past few weeks, and you've always been in some kind of argument or another."

Hinata heard the fabric behind her move, and turning her head, she saw Shino and Kiba were also listening; Shino leaned on the wall, while Kiba held the cloth aside.

"You three grew up together, and this is the poorest I have ever seen you treat each other," Chouji continued, looking at each of the other genins, "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that, well...things seem to be falling apart with you guys. It would be a shame to see your friendship end because of a misunderstanding or something foolish, like what happened with Ino and Sakura, and..." Chouji paused, then shook his head, not knowing exactly what to say next.

"...yeah," Kiba nodded roughly after a moment, suddenly intent on examining the cloth he was holding, "Yeah. We get the picture."

* * *

Sakura: (teardrop) Chouji's so cool!

Ino: I didn't know he could talk like that. All I ever see him do is eat.

Sakura: I wish I had a teammate with a deep personality like that! Well, Sasuke's kind of deep...

Ino: Sakura, Sasuke dumped you for Orochimaru. Get over it.

Sakura: (flames in her eyes) INO-PIG!

Ino: GIGANTIC FOREHEAD!

Kurenai: Girls, you're interrupting my date with Asuma. Let the readers review!

Ino: Eh?! You're on a date?! But when you get married you'll leave us and-

Kurenai: Enough! Readers, please review. And thanks for still reading these fics. We appreciate your patience.


	6. Hinata Grows

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, Hinata's awesomness, strategic training, friendly 'hating', an overbearing brother, formal cousins, etc. etc.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Hinata Grows**

"Come at me with all you've got!" Hinata exclaimed, panting, her Byakugan fully activated and her arms outstretched in her usual beginning stance, "Forget about my weakness! Just let me try!"

Kurenai almost could not believe her ears, walking into the training field the next day. Hinata was in the centre, and in front of her was Kiba and Akamaru, who had just eaten a soldier pill, while Shino stood to the side, observing. Hinata looked bruised and as if she had fallen hard several times, but her form was perfect, as usual. Kiba was also battered, but not nearly as much as Hinata.

As Kurenai watched, Kiba hesitated for a moment, then he made two hand signs to Akamaru before charging forward. Both dog-user and heiress had determined looks on their faces; Shino, as usual, seemed perfectly calm. Akamaru and Kiba ran together at first, then jumped to opposite sides of Hinata at the last moment. Hinata saw Kiba about to punch her on her right, and she grabbed the fist and elbow before they could connect and shoved Kiba aside.

_Good,_ Shino approved silently, S_he's able to see and counter that movement after such a long period of fighting; she wasn't able to a few weeks ago, when against that enemy on our D-rank mission._

Akamaru took this chance to lunge at her unprotected back, snarling, but with her Byakugan, Hinata saw him coming and ducked so that he sailed overhead. After a good 20 minutes of sparring, Hinata accidentally tripped over a rough patch on the ground; Kiba managed to grab the front of her coat and pull her up, and drove his knee hard into her stomach before she could retaliate or break away. Kurenai's eyes widened as Hinata fell to the ground, and she stepped forward to help, but a small swarm of kikaichu flew in front of her, and after sharing a look with Shino, Kurenai accepted that her duty was to watch for now.

_Hinata's slowing down,_ Shino realized, _She's getting tired, but with good reason; she's been training with Kiba for over three hours now._

Hinata winced and rolled once before gaining her footing again, but as soon as she stood up, Kiba ran in for a punch to her face. Hinata twisted to the side and safety at the last moment, but she still hadn't become accustomed to ignoring pain; the movement was too slow, and Kiba elbowed her instead, knocking her back down. Hinata tried to get up, but she was still seeing stars and stayed seated on the ground instead.

"Enough," Hinata gasped quietly, "I can't do any more."

"Even then," Kiba said, taking deep breaths, "You did better than yesterday."

Akamaru nosed Hinata's hand, and she patted the dog's head kindly.

"Your attacks keep hesitating, though," Shino said, stepping forward, "Both of you, but Hinata especially."

"It's still kind of weird, fighting Hinata," Kiba protested, putting his hands palms up and shrugging slightly.

"I'm not as used to fighting friends as Kiba is," Hinata panted, thinking about Kiba's 'arguments' with Hana, Shino, Deniizu, Michiko, Naruto...even Pooriin sometimes.

"That's much better than what I've seen in the past," Kurenai complimented, helping Hinata up, "But what I would advise for Kiba is to develop more subtle attacks; you're fast and strong for a genin, but to a chuunin, you can be very predictable. My advice is to study more experienced ninja when they train or fight, and observe how they try to feint, disguise or strategize their attacks."

"Hai, sensei," Kiba nodded seriously.

I'll make sure we train that, Akamaru barked.

"Also, Hinata, you have to train somewhere other than the Hyuuga dojo," Kurenai continued, "If you stay there, you'll only know how to fight against Jyuuken attacks, but not everyone knows the Gentle Fist style. I saw when you fought, that you always expected Kiba to attack a certain way, which didn't always work. You need to visit other dojo in order to learn about other fighting styles, and how to defend against them with your own. Otherwise, you'll be completely vulnerable to the more common fighting styles."

"I...I understand, sensei," Hinata nodded solemnly, with a slight bow.

"And Shino?" Kurenai turned to the startled young genin, "You need to work on your defensive stance. What if Hinata or Kiba suddenly tried to attack you, instead of each other?"

"...Point taken," Shino nodded, and Hinata couldn't help but smile.

_Before yesterday, Shino would only snap; he's back to his usual self, _Hinata thought happily, glad that Chouji had spoken to her teammates, _We all are; now we can improve._

"But overall," Kurenai said, with a proud smile on her face, "That was very well done."

Team 8, you rock!

Late that evening, Hinata walked home with Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino from their three D-rank missions that Tsunade had assigned to them for the day. Though he lived out of the way, Kiba was walking with Shino to pick up Pooriin, who was still in the Aburame household with her own, personal training.

"Wow, those were some tough missions," Kiba yawned sarcastically, then held up a finger for each of the tasks as he listed them off, "Weeding some lady's garden, babysitting an eight-year-old that just wanted to train on his own all day, and searching for an old man's pet ferret. That definitely fulfilled my life; I could die complete, now."

"By all means, go ahead," Shino encouraged.

"Ha," Kiba fake laughed, giving Shino an annoyed look while Hinata giggled, "That's hilarious. And you know what else is funny? I have more letters from Michiko than you do! Take that, Aburame! Ha!"

Hinata's smile disappeared, and she worried that maybe Kiba had touched a nerve. It was true; Michiko had been very shy about sending letters to Shino, and for two weeks, Shino had relied on Hinata for information on the other Inuzuka. Once Kiba had heard about Shino's lack of mail, he had begun holding the fact of his receiving many letters over Shino. However, after much persuasion on Hinata and Hana's parts, Michiko had begun writing to Shino the week before.

"I'm looking for quality, more than quantity," Shino said calmly, easing Hinata's fears of another fight, "Each of Michiko's one-page letters have messages that are mostly meant for Tsume-san and Hana-sempai, not just you. Meanwhile, I get two-page letters that are meant solely for me, and I've already received five letters. So I beat you in the respect of the quality of her letters."

"T...two pages?" Kiba stammered, "She spends twice as much paper on _you_ than on her family? I'm gonna have to talk to her..."

"Did I mention that they're all double-sided?" Shino asked smoothly.

"Double...!" Kiba choked, then pointed at his friend accusingly, "You're forcing her to write extra-long letters to make me look like a bad brother, aren't you? I bet you are! You're probably a really controlling boyfriend! Michiko probably actually hates you, but she's too scared of you to say anything! Well, I've just found you out; we'll sic the ANBU on you if we have to, sicko!"

_There's a fine line between a good brother, and an overbearing one,_ Hinata thought, laughing silently, _Kiba-kun, you might just be crossing it._

Shino didn't even bother to say anything in his defence; Kiba's claims were ridiculous and all three of them knew it.

"...what _else_ are you pressuring her to do?" Kiba asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at Shino.

Shino stepped in front of Kiba, and stopped walking, forcing Kiba to do the same. Staring up at the slightly older boy, Kiba remembered that Shino was very, very tall, and could be quite menacing if he tried. At that moment, Shino was trying; Hinata couldn't help but sigh at the two boys' clashing personalities and where it led them.

"Care to ask that question again?" Shino asked in an ominous tone.

"N...no..." Kiba answered slowly, while Akamaru cowered behind him, "I'm good!"

"Good," Shino nodded, continuing to walk towards his home, and after a moment of pause, Hinata and Kiba hurried after him. To tired now to think of anything else to talk about, the three friends walked on in silence.

"...Ano...has Pooriin told you two about her own letters?" Hinata asked, suddenly struck with a feeling of mischief once they arrived at her home and had said their goodbyes.

"No," Kiba answered, while Shino shook his head, "Why?"

"Well, it's just that...we both get double-sided letters that are four-pages long," Hinata answered promptly.

Kiba's jaw dropped, and even Shino flinched visibly.

"_Both _of you? You can't be serious!" Kiba whined.

"Eight pages written...?" Shino's voice trailed off.

"Good night!" Hinata smiled, and before the boys could say any more, she stepped through the Hyuuga complex's main gate and was gone.

Both boys stared at the closed door for a full minute, before they continued down the road.

"...I don't like it when Hinata's outgoing, suddenly," Kiba mused, and Shino couldn't help but agree.

Hinata, you rock!

_Those two...!_ Hinata thought affectionately, walking upstairs to her room, _They really haven't changed since they met in the Academy. One word and their egos are completely deflated._

Hinata had been smiling and silently hugging herself with suppressed mirth, but as she turned the corner, her smiled faded and her arms fell down to her sides. Right beside her bedroom door, Neji was leaning against the wall, frowning as if rehearsing something in his head. When he heard her come around the corner, he quickly stood up straight and faced Hinata directly while she approached.

"...Neji-niichan," Hinata greeted quietly, with a slight bow.

"Hinata-sama," Neji greeted back, making a deeper bow, "I'd...like to speak to you for a moment."

"All right..." Hinata nodded unsurely, and continued standing, waiting for Neji to speak.

Both the Hyuuga looked at each other solemnly; Neji had been coming to the main house daily, ever since after the Chuunin Exam, to train with Hinata's father, Hiashi. Sometimes they trained with each other, but both were on separate teams and had different things to do in their spare time. Hinata had art and lessons that one needed to learn in order to lead the Hyuuga clan, which she would in the future, while Neji had other places to go between training. Hinata wasn't sure what he did, but she knew he went somewhere, since they did not often see each other.

"I'll be moving into my own quarters in the main house's complex," Neji said, starting off with business, "Hiashi-sama offered me a room, since I train here so often now, and it would be easier if I lived here."

"That's good," Hinata said vaguely, nodding again, thinking, _But why would he tell me this in person? Neji-niichan rarely ever speaks to me; he would usually let Father or Hanabi tell me._

"I hope you approve, Hinata-sama."

"I don't mind."

"Thank you. I also would like to...make an apology to you," Neji said, looking down respectfully.

"...What for?" Hinata asked, a little confused.

"For...my rudeness and unkindness in my past actions and words against you," Neji answered, not looking up, "I realize now how thoughtless I was, and how undeserving you were, and so I give my deepest regrets and hope that you accept them."

_...and I thought Shino was stifling when formal,_ Hinata thought wryly, before bowing towards Neji and saying seriously, "I accept your apology gladly, and will forget your past actions. ...Neji-niichan?"

Neji looked up quickly, wondering what she was going to say.

"I hope...ano...since we have a clean slate now..." Hinata hesitated, then smiled gently, "I hope we can be friends now."

Neji stared at her, surprised, then a slow smirk appeared on his face, and he nodded in agreement.

"I hope so too, Hinata-sama."

* * *

Pooriin: Hinata is sooooo cool!

Michiko: H1n4t4 rox! 4 sh3 15 1337! pwn4g3!

Deniizu: ...Dude, you've got to cut down on the RuneScape and internet gaming.

Michiko: n3v3rz0rz!

Pooriin: Did you just say 'never-zors'?

Michiko: stfu, n00b! And no, I did not swear.

Deniizu: Hah! You spoke English again!

Michiko: ...Hinata still rocks!

Pooriin: True that, true that. Oh, reader, we'd love it if you could review!


	7. Return of the Gorgon

Please note: the disclaimer is written backwards. Don't worry, these fanfictions aren't making you crazy.

etc. etc., jounin, smelly people, late Gorgon, scary a of concept the friends, returned affiliated, themes or places, characters, any Naruto, own not do We DISCLAIMER:

Kiba: What's with the disclaimer? And didn't you update yesterday?

Esperwen: Lack of school has made me bored. And this makes up for the long wait over the weekend.

Kiba: But now the story's going to end sooner.

Esperwen: Don't worry. I don't think the Portals are ever going to close permanently.

Kiba: Was that a minorly subtle hint to the readers?

Esperwen: Very good. Now let them read.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Return of the Gorgon**

It was now into the second month that Deniizu had gone away. Michiko had come back from Suna at the beginning of the month, and this was also the sixth month that Pooriin had been training under Aburame Shibi's supervision. Now, every other day, Pooriin stayed inside to meditate for only half of the day; after lunch, she was taken outdoors for a different kind of training. And today, Michiko and Shino had been invited along.

"It has been about two weeks, since we have gotten started on the second part of Pooriin-chan's training," Shibi said, while he, Shino, Pooriin and Michiko walked down the street to their own training field, "Has it not, Pooriin-chan?"

"Hai, Shibi-sensei," Pooriin nodded politely, and her teacher continued.

"We have been trying to discover other secrets to Pooriin's doujutsu," Shibi explained, just as they stepped into the clearing, "But our efforts have proved fruitless, thus far. You can see our problem."

Michiko's jaw dropped, and she stared in awe when she saw the state of Pooriin's training field; Shino stiffened slightly, and even the Four Musketeers couldn't help but gawk at the site. Kunai scratch marks marked every tree; the innermost ones had large amounts of their trunks cut away. Stray weapons peppered the ground and trees, there appeared to be small craters on the ground, and Shino thought he saw a few bloodstains; now he understood why his father had needed so many bandages lately. But what caught their eyes the most was the ground; it was charred and blackened with soot, uneven in some places as if stone jutsus had been used, small ponds had formed in an area where it hadn't rained for three weeks, and somehow, parts of the ground seemed cut by something much larger than a normal sword; perhaps a wind jutsu.

"I thought you couldn't use any ninja techniques," Shino said, looking at what was left of a burnt tree; a slight crater and blackened roots were all that were left, "I thought that you couldn't use chakra, like Lee-san."

"I can't," Pooriin nodded, a cross between anger and sadness on her face, "But the Gorgon can. You know how I can't remember any of the thoughts when I'm a Gorgon; I just see things from an...observer's perspective? It's the same with ninjutsu; the Gorgon can mold chakra and harness it for use somehow; I can't, and once I wake up, I don't know how she does it."

"...She's terribly strong," Michiko whispered picking up a ruined bird's nest that D'Artagnan had been sniffing, "And out of control. Look at all the dead things..."

"The 'dead things', as you put it, are the reason why you and Shino are here," Shibi said calmly, the devastation around the small group not seeming to affect him.

_The damage probably _doesn't _affect him,_ Michiko thought, _He's either used to seeing it now, or it's that high-quality emotional training again. Even Pooriin doesn't show as much emotion during arguments, when she remembers. Otherwise, she's her usual hyperactive self._

"Often, I have asked Tsunade to lend me a medical nin during Pooriin's outdoor training," Shibi continued, "But they have all been needed right where they are; in the hospital. However, you, Michiko, may be just what we need. I realize you have only been back for less than a week, but if you could-"

"Stand by in case you need medical attention?" Michiko interrupted avidly, "I'd love that! And I need training for stressful situations anyway; you're really helping me."

"...Good," Shibi nodded after a moment.

_...he didn't want me to interrupt,_ Michiko realized, keeping her smile on but mentally kicking herself, _Smooth, Michelle._

"That would be the reason why I am here, isn't it?" Shino asked calmly, after a short moment of thought, "Michiko-san will need somebody to help her, since the medical nin must by all means be protected."

"Correct," Shibi nodded, a faint smile on his face.

_That's probably the closest Shino will ever get to a smile of pride,_ Pooriin guessed, knowing how stoic her tutor could be.

"...But I don't see why a medical nin helps you figure out Pooriin's ability," Michiko said slowly, not wanting to seem rude to Shino's father, "Unless...we're only a back-up plan? Are we expecting somebody else?"

"Very good," Shibi nodded, "Believe it or not, we are actually quite late for our appointment; the jounin who I sent for was scheduled to be here at sunrise. But as you can see, there is nobody here."

..._Maybe he got mad and just left?_ Michiko thought logically, giving a confused look with Shino, who only shrugged in reply.

"I don't understand," Shino said bluntly, and Shibi shook his head gently.

"As you may have heard, there are only two jounins who are quite notorious for being late," Shibi explained, then saw a grin appear on Michiko's face, "Yes, Michiko-san, one of them is your own sensei, Satoki Inel."

_There isn't even always a guarantee that Inel-sensei will arrive,_ Michiko thought, laughing inwardly.

"However, the jounin who will meet us, is...ah. Right behind me."

Shibi and Pooriin turned around, and all four of them could see their final companion. Sauntering into the clearing, he had silver hair and a lopsided forehead protector over one eye; Pooriin could see that he was reading a certain hentai manga that he held in ANBU-gloved hands.

"Yo," the son of the White Fang of Konoha greeted, with his customary embarrassed smile and neck scratch, "Sorry for being late, but there was a really good chapter, and I couldn't-"

"Shino, Pooriin-chan, Michiko-chan," Shibi said, speaking right over the jounin's excuse, "I introduce you to Hatake Kakashi, an S-rank ninja who has been kind enough to lend us both his valuable time, and his own doujutsu."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was mine," Kakashi grinned, "It was more like a gift-"

"Come, Pooriin-chan," Shibi interrupted again, leading his pupil to the centre of the field and completely ignoring Kakashi for the moment.

"Hey," Michiko smiled at Kakashi's wounded look, giving him a peace sign, "Remember me?"

"...Ah, yes," Kakashi nodded in recollection, "You and your friend are the two Tea Village prodigies; Deniizu with taijutsu and ninjutsu, while you specialize in medical techniques."

"It's nice to be recognized," Michiko grinned, "And you, of course, are the famous Copy-Ninja. But on to business: what's Shibi-san planning?"

"Well," Kakashi rubbed his chin while stepping forward, before putting a hand on his forehead protector as Michiko and Shino followed, "From what I remember, he intends to set off Pooriin-chan's ability, and see if there are other ways to set her back to normal, or if she can control it at all. He's tried squinting, or veils, both before and after the ability has been activated, but nothing has worked. Today, we're going to try to find a way to get her to control it after activating it; he hopes that my eye's abilities will be able to see some clue to how Pooriin-chan's works."

Shino looked to where his father and friend were; from Pooriin's body language, and the way that his father was leaning towards her, he could see that his father was trying to set her temper off.

"Interesting," Shino murmured to Kakashi, before grabbing Michiko's hand and pulling her to the edge of the clearing.

"What?" Michiko asked, when he stopped and let her look back, "What is it?"

"They're jounins, and we're only genins. I think it would be best if we stayed back," Shino said, and Michiko looked back to the other three.

Kakashi had just pulled up his forehead protector, and was standing, seemingly aloof, to the side. However, he had already put away his book, and as the people familiar with Kakashi knew, putting away his book meant business. Shibi was now shoving Pooriin by the shoulders while he spoke; if she weren't so worried about the Gorgon, Michiko would have thought that he looked rather ridiculous; something like a very old gangster.

"She's starting to shake," Michiko observed, making the Dog seal with her hands.

"It's starting," Shino nodded, watching her make the Dragon seal.

Pooriin's hands balled into fists; Michiko made the Rooster seal.

Pooriin was starting to grind her feet into the ground; Michiko made the Snake seal.

Three more signs of growing anger; three more hand seals.

"Once more," Michiko whispered, watching as Shibi shoved Pooriin again, this time to the ground.

_It's close,_ Shino thought, able to hear his father yelling, even at this distance.

**"Enough!"** Pooriin roared, leaping to her feet, while Michiko made her final seal.

Two things happened at once; Shino saw what Michiko did, while Kakashi saw the change in Pooriin. Pooriin's eyes did not really turn black, Kakashi could see, using his Sharingan; her pupils dilated until they made the irises too thin a circle to see. Michiko took her hands apart and held them up, outstretched, allowing a green aura to surround them; her justu was ready.

"Why did you activate it now?" Shino asked, seeing the chakra in Michiko's hands, "Doesn't holding onto medical jutsu waste chakra?"

Hearing a curse, Shino glanced over to where the jounin were; Shibi had just taken a glancing blow to the shoulder. However, the clan leader smoothly used the Body Flicker Technique to move just out of Pooriin's reach; summoning bugs out of his sleeves, he was still completely serene.

"This isn't healing jutsu," Michiko answered, and Shino realized that the glow was only coming from her fingertips, "This is for us."

Michiko touched her right thumb to the side of her neck, and arranged the four fingers on the side of her face, on certain points that her teacher, Kazuma, had taught her. With her left, she did the same with Shino.

"...It's a Sense Enhancement technique," Michiko said quietly, after minute, then bent down and touched the four dog's faces in the same manner, "It works like a soldier pill, only without the extra burst of chakra, and for a little bit longer; chi, the five senses, and my elemental detection are sharper than before."

"How long do we have?" Shino asked, also in a low voice; his sense of hearing was very different; he could hear Michiko breathing, and even the dogs' tails moving.

"Half an hour until it wears off," Michiko answered, cancelling the jutsu from her hands and standing on the ready, brandishing shuriken and the dagger Sasuke had given her as a welcome present those many months ago, "Porthos is good at keeping track of time; he'll tell us when it's time to redo the jutsu."

Porthos barked for emphasis, then whimpered with his brothers while Michiko and Shino winced.

When are you going to remember...! Aramis started, then stopped and shook his head in annoyance.

My poor ears... D'Artagnan sighed.

Get ready, guys, Athos said softly, Michiko has that fighting smell about her; she's getting anxious.

"Remember, boys, Pooriin's the enemy," Michiko murmured, "She looks the same, but she's different right now; she may try to hurt us, but we have to remember not to hurt her."

She smells different, Porthos whined, getting a whiff of scent on a stray breeze.

Are you sure it's not that new guy who smells? D'Artagnan asked.

Trust me, I'm sure, Porthos answered gruffly.

They watched Kakashi and Shibi fight against the Gorgon, but after a few minutes of sparring with 'simple' taijustu (lack of chakra classed the taijutsu as 'simple', but neither genin had ever seen some of the moves that Pooriin and the jounin used), Michiko gasped shortly, then started running forward towards the others; she sensed something huge.

"Don't!" Shino exclaimed, grabbing her elbow and pulling her to a stop, then lowered his tone when he realized how loud he sounded, "They're jounin; they can handle it."

"There's going to be so much fi-" Michiko started, then winced at the rush of heat she felt; she didn't need her Sense Enhancement to feel that the fire was hot, even from that distance.

Looking towards the other group, Shino and Michiko saw Pooriin blow a gigantic fireball straight at Shibi and Kakashi.

_The kikaichu are especially susceptible to heat,_ Shino realized, instinctively stepping between Michiko and the flames.

_Oh my...Pooriin, what did you do?_ Michiko thought, stunned at the magnitude of the fireball, then shook her head, _No, not Pooriin. The Gorgon._

Suddenly, a huge wave of water came from the small pond in the clearing, and met the fireball before it could hit either of the jounins. Kakashi had read Pooriin's seals before they were fully activated, and had countered the technique with one of his own; both he and Shibi were safe.

"They're jounin," Shino repeated, half dazedly, seeing so much water formed from so little a source; it was a hard feat to accomplish.

"...nifty," Michiko mused, nodding appreciatively.

Nifty, indeed. Kakashi is nifty.

"Shibi, she squints her left eye slightly whenever she tries to hit you, but while she was making those seals, she squinted her right eye," Kakashi reported, while dodging an attack from the Gorgon and jumping backwards to get out of range, "Do you think it means something?"

"Most likely," Shibi nodded, thinking hard, "...Perhaps we should try to get her to close one eye?"

"Didn't you try that before?" Kakashi asked, countering a water attack with an earth-based one, using the element's natural weakness against it (according to the elemental table of strengths, earth had an advantage over water, as water had an advantage over fire, etc.).

"Yes, but either her ability would not manifest itself, or I could not get her to close just one eye," Shibi answered, deflecting a kunai and pushing the Gorgon back skillfully, "She continually ended up closing both."

"What about pulling down that bandanna?" Kakashi asked, gesturing at it casually while dodging another attack with seemingly equal ease.

"Do _you_ want to get close to her?" Shibi challenged, and Kakashi couldn't help but see where the other shinobi was coming from.

"...She's incredibly fast," Kakashi noticed, blocking another punch and knocking away a well-timed kick.

"She wasn't during the beginning of our training," Shibi said, "Her brother has been training her for physical combat; she's becoming stronger and more talented as Pooriin, but she's also giving the Gorgon a more powerful body."

"Then shouldn't she _not_ train?" Kakashi asked, half amused, half concerned.

"She wants to be a ninja, Kakashi-san," Shibi answered smoothly, "Since she has no talent with chakra, she needs to be exceptional with taijutsu and her studies. Take my word for it, she isn't letting her brothers go easy on her."

"Fascinating as that is, we need to test that 'one eye' theory," Kakashi said, getting nicked on the arm by a kunai, "And fast. She's catching up to us quick."

"Do you have a plan?" Shibi asked, unable to help but marvel at how Pooriin was making two jounins look like experienced chuunins; the Gorgon was terribly powerful indeed, "A few come to my mind, but they all risk harm to Pooriin."

"Yeah, but we need more bugs, and maybe an elemental changeling with a small pack of dogs wouldn't hurt," Kakashi said, glancing at the group across the field.

While he tried again to engulf the Gorgon in kikaichu, Shibi thought about it; he was endangering two genins, one of which was his own child. But he also knew how well Shino was doing with his ninja techniques, and he had heard of Michiko's bloodline limit, as had Kakashi.

"So long as you can get them a proper message so that they know the plan, by all means, begin," Shibi agreed.

"Then hold Pooriin off on your own for a moment," Kakashi said, and while Shibi hurried and stood between Kakashi and Pooriin, the silver-haired jounin stepped back, quickly made a few seals, and summoned a small dog onto the ground beside him.

"Yosh, youngster!" the dog greeted, raising a paw.

"Pakkun, I need you to deliver instructions quickly; just run your errand, and then you can leave."

* * *

Michiko: Oh no! A minor cliffhanger! NOOOooo!

Shino: ...must you do that?

Michiko: No, but I'm having fun. (to reader) Oh NOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooo!

Shino: At least keep your volume to a minimum; that Sense Enhancement is still effective.

Michiko: I _am_ being quiet. If I were really going for volume, you would be deaf right now.

Gorgon: **I have caught you off-guard!**

Shino: Time to go! (grabs Michiko, turns to reader) I'll help you out of here if you review.

Michiko: You can't bribe the readers! All they have to do is close the window and-

Shino: Do you want help escaping, or what?

Michiko: I will submit...

Gorgon:** RAAAAAAH! (attacks)**

Michiko: Quick! Review before it's too late!


	8. Results of Pooriin's Training

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, the Bug Jar Technique which doesn't actually exist but I'm putting in anyway just because I can, annoying honorifics, teachers left with waaay too much time on their hands, Pooriin's mad skills, etc. etc.

Esperwen: Do I type 'mad skills' too often?

Ruroni: ya its startin gto get old.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Results of Pooriin's Training**

As soon as Pakkun has disappeared after completing his delivery, the plan went under way.

While Michiko stayed behind with her dogs, Shino ran forward, summoning as many bugs out as he dared; he and his father began the Bug Jar Technique from both sides, around Pooriin, so that she couldn't prevent the technique from completing a full circle around her. A great, black swarm of the Destruction Beetles filled the air, and began to fly rapidly around the black-eyed girl, so that they could not be passed. Both bug-users and Kakashi saw a kunai and hand tear out from time to time, but the hole was always quickly mended, and the swarm was still an impassable wall. Impassable for anything but the air, that is.

"C'mon, c'mon," Michiko murmured, her eyes close as she called up her chakra, careful not to draw on too much or too little, "I can do this," she kept muttering, while all four dogs struggled to stay as close to her as possible, "I know I can do this. Think happy, darnit! Nearly...Almost...Just a little more...THERE!"

Michiko's eyes snapped open, and she shoved the chakra out into her system, causing her molecules to become unstable, until she finally transformed into air, invisible and untouchable. Because her dogs were close to her, they transformed into air too, just like her clothes had.

"that took a while," she said, her voice now only a whisper while she floated towards the swarm, "i have to be quick, kakashi-san," she whispered as she wafted by, "if i don't get it in ten minutes, i have to get out. otherwise i'll collapse; i'm not good with this form."

"No pressure," Kakashi shrugged, while Michiko began to squeeze through the buzzing beetles, "We wanted you done in ten minutes anyways; I have somewhere I need to be, and Shibi-san's got a mission to get to, not to mention that Shino looks like he's getting bored, so it'd be great if you hurried. ...Like I said, though, no pressure."

_I appreciate that,_ Michiko thought sarcastically, while she waited for the four dogs to get through with her; she couldn't see them, but if anything formed with her, she always had a sort of awareness to how close they were.

**"Let me out!" **the Gorgon bellowed, still struggling with getting through the beetles; Michiko could see that the beetles had cut into Pooriin's arms each time she managed to poke out of the wall of insects.

"c'mon, boys, let's go," Michiko said, "d'artagnan, do your stuff!"

During her elemental training, Michiko had been transforming the dogs with her more often, lately. The grey pup, she had noticed, was the one that was affected by any tiring effects the least; just as Michiko had blacked out after transforming when she was younger, the dogs had become exhausted between transformations. But D'Artagnan had bounced back the quickest, and ran the fastest anyway, so he was the one that got to distract the Gorgon while the other three followed.

Once he was back to normal, the grey dog nipped at Pooriin's heels, and jumped nimbly out of the way, so the Gorgon ended up following after him, away from the other four. Next came Porthos, then Athos, and finally Aramis; all four did their best to keep the Gorgon running in circles, once their initial dizziness wore off. This was also a tactic that Michiko had been training; Kiba and Akamaru had done the same during their early training, as did Hana with her pack, and Tsume with her own companion; the dogs had to learn how to distract and 'herd' the enemy to another area, leaving their ninja companion free for something like preparing a jutsu.

The Gorgon continued chasing, but slowly and surely, she began to slow down, trying to figure out another tactic, and focusing all of her energies on the four dogs. Finally, just before her time limit in her air form, Michiko took her chance and transformed back into herself, just behind the Gorgon in her blind spot. As fast as she could, Michiko grabbed the bandanna around Pooriin's forehead, and tugged it down, but not before the Gorgon saw her.

**Hit her here and she will become very weakened,** the Gorgon thought, **Then she can be easily dispatched.**

Without any other thoughts, the Gorgon slammed her elbow into Michiko's stomach, with all of her strength, and added help from her chakra. Michiko went flying backwards, right through the wall of beetles, and rolling painfully backwards on the ground when she landed. When she stopped tumbling, she didn't move; Shino made as if to go to her, but after a stern look from his father, he composed himself and focused back on the task at hand: the Gorgon.

"...M-michii?" Pooriin gasped, with only her left eye covered.

The three men examined her closely; her exposed right eye was still black. Could she still see a person's deepest weaknesses? Silently, the two Aburame shared a look, then dispersed their kikaichu technique. Warily, all three ninja stayed on guard, in case Pooriin was not as 'normal' as she seemed to be.

"_Michi_?" Pooriin cried out, hurrying over to her friend, who still hadn't moved.

Sliding to a stop beside Michiko's body, Pooriin quickly tried rolling Michiko from her side, onto her back. The two jounins noticed that she still hadn't blinked; Shino followed her quickly, and knelt cautiously on the other side of Michiko and helped Pooriin roll her. Michiko's eyes were closed.

"She's bleeding!" Pooriin exclaimed, though none of the males could see any wounds, "I cracked one rib and broke two! Michi! Michi, wake up and heal yourself!"

While Pooriin began slapping Michiko's face lightly, the jounin shared looks; Pooriin was in control of herself, but she could still see Michiko's physical weaknesses!

Convinced now that Pooriin was safe, Shino was more at ease; the four dogs realized that Pooriin smelled a little bit more normally again, and they hurried over to their human's side. In not too long, Michiko regained consciousness, and she looked around dully.

"...Pauline, what...?" Michiko started coughing, and when she saw blood instead of phlegm, Pooriin began to explain.

"I'm sorry! I hit you as the Gorgon, and I broke some of your ribs, and the kikaichu cut up your back really badly, and then you hit your head against a rock, so it knocked you out! But now you're awake, and I'm sorry!"

Pooriin threw her arms around her friend in a hug, making Michiko cough worse.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Pooriin jumped back and away from Michiko to give her room, "I forgot...But you have to heal yourself, fast! You'll either bleed to death, or the pain will make you faint again!"

"Could you quiet down?" Shino grumbled, rubbing his ears, "Michiko-san used a sense-enhancing technique and everything sounds louder than usual."

"Oh! Sorry!"

"...you did it again..."

"Shino..." Michiko held her hands up weakly, and Shino took them, "I need...Ox, Rat, Dragon, Dog..."

Shino formed the seals for her, moving her fingers for her; the pain wasn't helping her stay very coordinated with her body. When the last seal was formed, a blue aura went around her hands.

"Wait, isn't that colour...?" Kakashi looked confused, while he pointed at her hands; Pooriin noticed that his forehead protector was back over his eye again.

"Her chakra makes the wrong colours," Shino answered for her, placing her hands over where her ribs were, "Blue is usually raw or attacking chakra, but for Michiko-san, it's healing chakra. Likewise, green chakra is her offensive chakra."

"Does it have anything to do with your bloodline limit, Michiko-san?" Shibi asked, once again in his usual level tone (neither emotional nor robotic, simply calm), rather than in the businesslike tone that he used in battle.

"N-" Michiko started, then went into a coughing fit, spraying a little blood up.

"Shino, put her hands a little higher," Pooriin instructed, "Her more serious wounds aren't that low; she's still badly hurt."

Shino didn't adjust Michiko's hands for a moment, until Pooriin realized exactly where 'a little higher' was. Quickly, she took Michiko's hands and moved them for her, helping Shino with his decency.

"Can you-" Michiko gasped, then continued, "...mold chakra?"

Pooriin paused, then made the seals that she had learned from Bikto, for an illusionary clone. However, after trying three times, Pooriin still couldn't activate the technique.

"No," Pooriin shook her head disappointedly.

"Can you see any other weaknesses in Michiko?" Kakashi asked, "Some that aren't physical, perhaps? Hint, hint."

"No," Pooriin answered confidently, barely hesitating, "I can tell that she has just one slightly fractured rib, a lump growing on her head, 32 cuts on her back...even that her left ankle is weaker than the right one, but it's only physical stuff. I'm supposed to know stuff like her deepest, darkest secrets, right? But I don't."

"Perhaps because the Gorgon's right eye reads flaws of the body, while the left, which is covered now, tells of psychological weakness," Shibi hypothesized thoughtfully, "Perhaps you should cover the other eye now, Pooriin-chan. And Shino, help Michiko-san sit up so she can heal her back."

_Why does even _Shino's dad_ call Pooriin 'chan', but I'm still a 'san'?_ Michiko thought, feeling the ache in her torso disappear before she moved her hands and twisted so that she touched her back, _Why are they formal to _me_? ...oh, good, the Sense Enhancement technique wore off; I don't hurt as much anymore._

Meanwhile, Pooriin pulled her bandanna down to fully cover her eyes for a moment, then readjusted it so that now her left eye was the only one showing.

"What do you see?" Kakashi asked, widening his visible eye and trying to sound mystical.

_Lack of students is leaving Kakashi with way too much free time,_ Pooriin thought wryly.

"There's a bit of dust on your nose, Shino," Pooriin said, pointing, and Shino wiped it away with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Your eyes are brown again," Shibi informed his student, "I believe it should be safe for you to remove the bandanna completely."

Pooriin obeyed, and the others could see that her eyes were completely normal.

"What's wrong with my ankles?" Michiko asked calmly, straining a little to heal a hard-to-reach cut on her back.

"There's something wrong with your ankles?" Pooriin asked, surprised, looking down at Michiko's sandaled feet.

"No, seriously, do you remember what's wrong with them?" Michiko prompted, then added after receiving Pooriin's blank stare, "As the Gorgon, you saw a weakness in my ankles. Do you remember what it was?"

"N-no," Pooriin shook her head, "I just...first Shibi-sensei was yelling at me, and then...it was like I blacked out, but then you were suddenly in front of me when I hit you. I...I don't remember what I said or thought; just what I saw. All I remember is that you were hurt and we were trying to help you. Hey, Michi-chan, is your back itchy or something? What're you trying to do? And...AAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ARMS?!"

Pooriin held her arms out in front of her and gaped in horror at the wounds she saw there. Michiko opened her mouth to answer, then with a faint smile, simply healed the cuts on Pooriin's arms that the kikaichu had made, undid her healing jutsu, and shook her head.

"It's nothing," Michiko said, getting up shakily, even with Shino's help, "I should head home; I'm a little unstable right now."

"What _happened_?" Pooriin asked, completely serious, and still a little clueless as to what happened while the Gorgon was around.

"She transformed too quickly into and back from her air form," Shino answered, while the four dogs nosed Michiko's knees, "She's not trained enough to do that properly yet. Are we dismissed, Father?"

"Yes," Shibi nodded, "Pooriin-chan, I believe that is enough training for the day. And Michiko-san, you should take it easy for a little while. You may have healed yourself, but your body still needs to adjust to the shock."

"That's just what my teacher in Suna said," Michiko nodded with a bow, half-smiling before she and her two friends left the field, thinking, _That stupid 'san' honorific...gr..._

"...Well. That was eventful," Kakashi mused, already flipping through Itcha-Itcha Paradise to find his page, "Is there anything else you need help for to study Pooriin's ability?"

Shibi thought for a moment, thinking about the discoveries in Pooriin's Gorgon ability that they had made that day, then shook his head unsurely.

"I will make my report to Tsunade, and we will see what she says after that. But thank you for your help today; we have definitely made progress."

Ah, yes, progress, sweet progress...something that I should be working on with my other fanfictions...

Pooriin closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stretched her arms as high as she could, working on relieving her tension. She breathed out, then after opening eyes that shone with a fierce determination, she nodded.

"AAAAAAH!" Kiba and Michiko yelled at the same time, charging Pooriin from both sides.

The Chatora family's once tranquil backyard became alive with activity, as Kiba attacked from Pooriin's right, while Michiko came from the left; three of Michiko's pack charged from behind while Akamaru and Athos ran in from the front, all five of the dogs barking their heads off.

"Isn't that dangerous, charging like that?" Hinata whispered to Goudon from their hiding place, "She doesn't have Byakugan."

"Considering that they're all making a lot of noise, they're not aiming to kill, and Pooriin's half-expecting that tactic, I'd say she's ok," Goudon answered calmly, "Seriously, watch her."

Just a few hours after being dismissed by Shibi, Pooriin was still training. First there was tutoring with Bikto, and now there was this.

Pooriin jumped up and used Kiba's shoulder as a support to raise herself and kick out at Michiko, who ducked down just in time. Kiba flipped Pooriin off of him, and the Chatora girl quickly spun in midair to land neatly, if rather solidly, on her feet. The Four Musketeers jumped as one towards Pooriin, but since they were all on one side, Pooriin rolled out of the way, just in time. She blocked Akamaru's lunge with her forearms and threw him high into the air, before running around to the other side of the expansive yard, eluding a joint tackle by Kiba and Michiko.

"Good job dodging her kick!" Kiba exclaimed to his adopted sister.

"Nice flip!" Michiko called back, already rushing after the girl in pink.

"It's our turn," Bikto murmured to Shino, seeing that Pooriin was running right towards them.

Both boys coordinated their appearance, so that Shino jumped out of his tree to land in front of Pooriin, blocking her way, while Bikto and his cats landed behind Pooriin, preventing her from running back. The Inuzuka team also moved into place, so that Pooriin was boxed in, with the fence on her left acting as another barrier.

Thinking quickly, Pooriin suddenly charged right at Michiko, who she thought would be the most likely to duck or step aside, instead of attack. Michiko flinched as if to do so, but then she narrowed her eyes and quickly bent down and grabbed at Pooriin's legs, pulling an ankle up and tripping her in a rather undignified manner. With a soft grunt, Pooriin winced, then kicked at Michiko's face, causing her to step back, giving Pooriin enough time to bounce back up to her feet. Kiba threw a punch at Pooriin, and when the girl bent backwards to dodge it, Bikto took a sideways swipe at her head. The Manx cat lept at Pooriin's face at the same instant, and Bitko's silver tabby was ready to swipe a paw out at Pooriin's legs, but Pooriin twisted and seemed to roll on the air, a tactic that both moved her to where fewer people were, and avoided the attacks.

_Goudon taught her well,_ Shino thought to himself, trying to find an opening so that he could attack.

Goudon and Hinata hurried to gang up on Pooriin, along with Goudon's cat companions; Michiko, Kiba and their dogs decided that it was time to make room for the others, and moved out of the way. Hinata kicked low while Goudon kicked high and the two cats jumped somewhere in the middle, all with the intentions of knocking Pooriin down. Pooriin jumped to avoid Hinata, grabbed Goudon's leg to pull herself up, and used her own legs to sweep and knock the two cats none-too-gently to the side. Dodging a slightly slowed down punch from Goudon, Pooriin found herself again blocked from escaping by Shino. The bug-user grabbed Pooriin's shoulders and used both his strength and her momentum to swing her down and push her to the ground, while Bitko's cats tackled her, thus ending the round.

"NO!" Pooriin exclaimed, stretching her arm spasmadically to her objective: a little red flag pinned to a tree just a few feet away from her, "I was so close this time!"

"Yeah, well, you still got tackled," Bikto shrugged mercilessly, while Goudon helped his sister back up, "You still have a ways to go."

"Nooo..." Pooriin moaned, and flopped against Goudon's arm, dramatically faking her death.

"You have grown, but your training is not yet complete, young grasshopper," Goudon joked, earning a light kick in the shin from Pooriin.

"Still, that was really good," Kiba complimented, while Hinata clapped quietly in the background.

"I think you've already surpassed me," Michiko added ruefully, "Not that saying that is much..."

"Aw, thanks!" Pooriin gave her friend a hug, laughing, then led the way to a small table where there were drinks set up by her mother.

"She's so good now!" Michiko whispered to Hinata and Shino, while Pooriin sat with Kiba and her brothers, "I'm almost jealous!"

"She's a fast learner," Hinata nodded happily, "And she's working really hard! I'm sure she'll pass the genin exam!"

"The genin exam includes projectile weapons," Shino reminded, always the level-headed one, "I've seen her aim, and it's nothing like Michiko-san's when she's angry."

"Well, we could always get Pooriin angry, if we could figure out a fool-proof plan to keep her safe," Michiko shrugged sarcastically, sipping her water.

"Don't even joke about that," Hinata shuddered, remembering how Pooriin had almost killed Michiko and Deniizu during their first B-rank mission, "The Gorgon's too serious to be lightly talked about."

"I'm not being 'light' about it," Michiko protested gently, "I just..." her voice trailed off while she watched Pooriin laughing, "...It's just...it's not fair. ...she's afraid of herself, sometimes. If she loses her temper...you know."

"I know," Hinata sighed, leaning against Michiko's shoulder, "She's told me so, too..."

A little later, Pooriin looked over at two of her best girl friends and smiled; both were teasing Shino, who was trying to endure it with as much dignity as possible. Michiko caught Pooriin's eye for a second, then winked and turned back towards Shino, but Pooriin had seen a small bit of concern in Michiko's look.

_She's such a mom,_ Pooriin thought affectionately, _And Hinata and Deniizu can be like protective big sisters sometimes, always trying to either stand up for me, or support me in everything I do. But Shibi-sensei's learning about my ability, and soon I'll be able to harness it for my own means. And then I can return the favour. One day, they're going to count on me, and I'll be ready and able._

* * *

Deniizu: Aw...why can't _I _get Gorgon abilities? 

Korii: You don't have black hair and brown-ish skin. The Gorgon's always a south-east Asian type of person, remember?

Itachi: You have the ability to mold chakra, and a strong blood-line limit, so I don't see what your problem is.

Deniizu: But then I have an excuse to kill everything...

Korii: As fun as that is- (notices readers) Oh. Um...(shifty eyes) hey. Why don't you review?


	9. Family Reunion

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, bounty hunters, damaged relations, running from medical ninja, etc. etc.

Itachi: Mitasco. Thank you for your support; this chapter is dedicated to you.

Deniizu: Hey, don't I get a dedication? And why are you using your sexy voice?

Rabid fangirl: Does Ita-ita-kun have another kind of voice? (drool)

Itachi: (contemplates making a fireball)

Esperwen: Gah! Oh...this is what I get for allowing a missing nin to get the headnotes. We also thank summer-loven-2, libaka, and twiggy-shino for faithfully reviewing. And Vorderic-sensei and gord for that one review...ah, I miss the days when we had a ridiculous amount of reviews...but even now, I feel wealthy. Three reviews per chapter is actually really good.

Ruroni: u just want 2 say sumthing epic

Esperwen: Ok, read chapter nine!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Family Reunion**

Two and a half months had passed since Deniizu had been away from Konoha, but it seemed like much longer. Travelling with two members of the Akatsuki was no easy feat; especially since they needed to ensure that no sign of their stay was left behind. With bounty hunters after Itachi and Kisame's heads, the task hiding Deniizu from the rest of the Akatsuki, and random medical specialists who wanted to examine Korii's white eyes, it took all of the skills of the four group members to keep themselves hidden.

But Deniizu was having fun. Her boyfriend, Itachi, and one of her best friends, Korii, were constantly with her. And Kisame was always fun to train with; she didn't get to work with water-based jutsus very often.

Korii, on the other hand, didn't really care much for the extensive travelling. Yes, he was training, and yes, he got to see a lot of new places, but he wasn't enjoying himself. He'd rather be doing missions in Konoha and getting paid, instead of running around away from people who were _on_ missions to find him and get paid. And though Deniizu thought everything was all right, Korii saw that she was damaging both her relationship with him, and with Itachi.

_She isn't the same. All she does now is either train, or flirt, it seems,_ Korii thought, watching Deniizu tease Itachi while they walked, _Not just with Itachi, but with me, too. I'll admit that I encouraged it at first, but now...she's supposed to be dating Itachi. Or, if she wanted me, she'd have switched by now. I've my feelings about as clear as I can make them. But she's done nothing._

Itachi wasn't the only one with such thoughts. Late, one night, while he was on sentry duty, he saw Korii and Deniizu walking together, alone.

_All he has to do now is say the word, and she'll go to him,_ Itachi thought, feeling anger bubble in his veins; at first, he had been sad that things would be ending, but now he felt as if Deniizu were just playing with him, _Why doesn't she? Korii may never have spoken out loud, but he's giving off all the signs there are that he likes her, and Deniizu isn't naive. ...I'm tired of this._

Kisame had also grown tired of the whole charade. If being part of an emotionally related problem was irritating, it was annoying to simply watch, without any feelings attached.

_That girl has potential, but if she has the energy to make eyes at two boys at once, she should be able to figure out a new technique from her bloodline limit. But lately, she's only been improving on what she already knows. An effective, but in the end, useless tactic._

This is why you take your studies seriously.

Deniizu wandered through the streets of one of the small villages in the Lightning Country. She had learned early on in their travels that one of the best ways to learn if they were being searched for, was by simply listening to the gossip that floated around. Unfortunately, all this village ever seemed to talk about was the price of fruit.

_Boring,_ Deniizu thought, trying not to yawn, while sifting through people's thoughts; another good information gathering strategy, _No offence, but this is more like Michiko's kind of town._

_Deniizu, can you hear me?_ Kisame's thought said.

One of the ways that the four of them communicated, was by letting Deniizu keep tabs on their current thoughts, so that whenever they thought her name, she would tune in right away. She already had a better 'hearing' range than when they had first run away; Kisame was outside of the village, a good 200 meters away.

_What is it, Kisame-san?_ Deniizu thought back.

_It's time for you to come back,_ Kisame answered, _Tell Itachi that Korii has found some news._

_About who? The Akatsuki or ANBU?_

_Neither._

_Then why's it so important?_

_It isn't really. It's only something about your father._

Deniizu froze where she was, then hurried towards the edge of the village towards their camp, as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself.

_I'm on my way._

The plot thickens...

When she arrived, she found Korii and Itachi had arrived back at the camp before her. Looking around, she normally would have noticed the small cooking fire, and four small tents that they usually had set up. Kisame was seated on a tree stump, holding his large sword with its blade's tip in the ground, Korii stood near the fire, and Itachi leaned against a tree. But right then and there, she didn't want to know about anything else but the bit of news that Korii had.

"What've you heard about my dad?" Deniizu demanded.

"Hi," Korii waved, completely relaxed.

"Good afternoon," Itachi added, while Kisame nodded.

"I don't care, just tell me what you learned!" Deniizu exclaimed.

"Ok, if not saying 'hello' wasn't rude enough, do you really have to yell-" Korii started.

"Korii, cut it out!"

Deniizu glared daggers at the older boy, but Korii wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"By the way, did you know that another chuunin exam is being held in one of the smaller ninja villages right about now?" Korii asked, still maddeningly calm.

"Korii, I," Deniizu stopped, composed herself, then said in the calmest tone she could muster, "Hello, Korii, Itachi, and Kisame-san. What a nice afternoon it is, with such good weather," then said in an increasingly annoyed tone, "Now are you going to tell me what the news is, or do I have to shove a kunai somewhere where the sun doesn't shine to get you started?"

"Temper," Itachi murmured, shaking his head and ignoring Deniizu's glare.

"I think that's enough," Kisame finally announced, almost able to see smoke coming out of Deniizu's ears, "Korii, tell her what you've heard."

Deniizu looked at the curly-haired boy expectantly, and he sighed quietly before beginning.

"I overheard some people...hey, wait," Korii looked to the side and activated his Byakugan, "Is that a bounty hunter?"

"According to the chakra I'm sensing, I think it's the medical nin that has been following us for three weeks," Kisame answered, getting up slowly.

"All right, we have to move," Itachi commanded, making a few hand seals.

While Korii doused the campfire, Kisame and Deniizu watched their tents and belongings shimmer, then slowly disappear. Itachi had used this technique several times at a precaution against followers who were not trained to find and break similar genjutsu. Now, none of their things would be seen, and anybody walking through would feel compelled to walk around the now empty clearing, rather than through it.

Itachi pointed to Kisame, then north, then motioned for Deniizu to go east, Korii to go west, and he himself began moving south. He gave a show of fingers to indicate the number 'two', then silently began to lay a false trail for the ninja that was following them. All four ninja would make these trails, and after two hours, they would return to the camp and regroup.

_Dammit, Korii, you and your white eyes,_ Deniizu teased, _We should get you sunglasses._

_But sunglasses and traditional robes clash so much,_ Korii thought sarcastically, _Just keep making that trail!_

Two hours later...

"So, I overheard these two guys talking in a bar at the village I was scouting out, and there were these two guys who were staying in the village overnight," Korii explained, when the group finally got together again, "They were travellers, or so they told the bartender, and they were talking about a fight they saw between two people. Or, at least they guessed it was a fight; there were two men who seemed to be having some kind of staring contest, but both of them were either shaking with effort, or they were both having seizures at the same time; I don't know."

"...'seizures'," Kisame stated, half question, half out of annoyance.

Deniizu couldn't help but grin; Korii didn't like staying serious for too long. Their extended trip hadn't changed him overmuch.

"Anyway," Korii continued, as if nothing had happened, "They just kind of watched, not really knowing what was happening; imagine two guys standing in the middle of the road, just staring at each other. Because that's what they said it looked like. Suddenly, the shorter guy screams and starts crying blood instead of tears; blood appeared out of everywhere from the guy's head, while the taller guy just walked away. The first guy died, of course, and the taller guy just left the village as he was; he didn't even have a bag for supplies or anything. ...yeah, that's it. Think it was your dad?"

Deniizu nodded, an unusual light in her green eyes, and asked, "Did the travellers say which way he went?"

"The opposite of where they were headed," Korii answered, nodding, "West."

"...I take it we're leaving," Kisame guessed, getting up slowly from his place.

"Yes," Itachi nodded, "We've stayed here for long enough; if we try to track Yasusora Kurosaigo, at least we'll keep moving."

Kisame nodded, slightly annoyed, but still compelled to obey Itachi because of being a slightly weaker ninja. The shark-like nukenin deftly began to put away his tent, as did the rest of the team.

_Father..._Deniizu thought, using her bloodline limit to telekinetically pack up her belongings, _It's been almost eight years. But I'm not the little weakling I once was; far from it. I hope you remember me, Father. I remember you, you bastard._

Itachi glanced at Deniizu in the corner of his eye while he packed up, and smiled slightly. His precious demon was using her hate; she was going to be so strong. Korii looked at Deniizu himself. As much as he knew how useful hate and anger could be, he also realized that it wasn't the only, or best, way to gain strength.

_If she uses too much of her anger, she won't be Denise anymore,_ Korii thought, pulling the drawstring on his backpack, shutting it tight, _Then it won't matter if she goes back to Konoha. Michelle might not even recognize her...I promised Michiko I would do all I could to keep Deniizu out of harm's way, be it by an enemy, or her own hand, but Deniizu's different now. She's still Denise, with the same sense of humour, but sometimes...she's not the same. Maybe if I could just learn _that_ technique...no, but that might be too extreme-_

"Korii."

The wavy-haired boy looked up quickly at the sound of Kisame's voice; he had frozen where he was, too deep in thought to keep moving.

"Keep up," was all Kisame said, before starting to move through the trees.

Deniizu walked with her arm hooked with Itachi's as she followed, and Korii grimaced.

_Michelle, I realize we're friends, and friends are supposed to do favours for each other,_ Korii thought, trudging behind the other three, _But when we come back to Konoha, I'm staying there. I don't care if I'm stuck doing missions with Mr. Ionel Stoica; it'll sure as hell be better than this. And there's a frigging stone in my boot. Dammit..._

Don't you just hate it when they say, "_that_ technique" and then get all mysterious?

They had been tracking Yasusora Kurosaigo for over two weeks, but finally, Itachi's group knew that they were close. Lately, all of the villages they passed through whispered of a man with great powers. He moved items simply by thinking about it, he could read minds...he could look into one's soul and find the deepest, most hidden secrets and bring them to light.

"Tch...like that's scary," Deniizu sniffed, while they walked away from yet another village, "I'm better than him, just watch me."

"No offence, but that sounded like something a little kid would say," Korii said calmly.

"So?" Deniizu shrugged, "How far do you think he is now, Kisame?"

"It's hard to say, but considering what they said, we should be right behind him," Kisame answered, "Didn't you check their thoughts for how recently Kurosaigo had been around?"

"N...no," Deniizu admitted; she had forgotten.

A pain shortly went through her head, but it was so brief, she thought she had imagined it. Maybe she was just annoyed with Kisame.

"Then do so next time," Kisame said, exasperated, "What is the point in having an ability, if you don't use it for anything useful?"

_Shut up..._Deniizu growled in her head, but kept that thought to herself.

_'Shut up', you say?_ a vaguely family voice said into her head, _But I haven't said anything at all._

Deniizu froze where she was, and the rest of the group, feeling her sudden wariness, stopped with her.

"What is it?" Itachi asked brusquely, seeing a slight flash of uncertainty pass through her eyes.

"...if there is any danger, perhaps you should warn us before it's too late," Kisame said sarcastically when Deniizu didn't speak; he didn't like travelling around just to accomodate his colleague's lover.

Korii activated his Byakugan and scanned around the area around them quickly and with better skill than he once had. He was now able to see the weave of fine cloth at 98 meters; his goal was almost reached, now. He felt a sharp pain in his head that quickly passed; he guessed that his eyes must be strained more than he thought.

"There's a man coming slowly at 26 meters from...from north-northeast," Korii informed, then shook his head, "No, it's south-south east. I mean, due west. No, he's coming from...I...I can't figure out which direction."

"Is he moving around so quickly?" Kisame asked, "Or does he have a kind of invisibility technique?"

"Neither," Korii answered, putting a hand on his forehead, touching his Hyuuga seal; he had taken off his forehead protector and kept it in his backpack once they'd first left Konoha, using his hair to cover the mark there, "I...I don't get it. I can't figure out which way is north and which way..." Korii shook his head and simply pointed at where the man was, "He's 15 meters that way."

"Deniizu, do you know who it is?" Itachi asked, completely serious.

Deniizu nodded mutely, but her eyes weren't focused properly; something was going on in her head, Itachi realized.

"It's her father," Itachi said grimly, tightening his forehead protector, and readying his hands for seals.

"Ah," Kisame nodded, adjusting his grip on his sword's hilt, "The madman approaches."

_Get out of my head!_ Deniizu exclaimed, trying to push her father out.

Within her mind, inside that dark, circular room that she had come to know so well, there was Deniizu, and there was Kurosaigo. Their hands were locked together, and Deniizu was doing her best to shove her father away, but Kurosaigo seemed to be using barely any effort.

_"Is this how you greet your father?"_ Kurosaigo asked, both out loud and into all four of the missing nin's heads while he stepped into view, _"How very disappointing. I hoping for a more affectionate welcome."_

_Who the hell do you think you are?_ Deniizu growled into all of their minds; she could speak only one way at a time; she didn't have the skill to speak mentally and verbally simultaneously.

_She isn't strong enough,_ Korii realised, with a brief sense of panic that he immediately beat down to calm, _She can't fight him, and she knows it._

_Shut up! _Deniizu snapped, _I can hear your thoughts, you know!_

_Well...now I do,_ Korii shrugged, deceptively uncaring, _Holy shit, we're gonna die._

_"Fight me?"_ Kurosaigo asked, an amused, if somewhat bored tone in his voice, _"Whatever for?"_

_You psycho bastard!_ Deniizu yelled, pulling out a kunai with a livid look on her face, _How can you not know?! You killed everybody, you had us driven away from our home...you killed my mom!_

_"...by 'mom', do you mean that Yume girl?"_ Kurosaigo asked, looking as if he had genuinely forgot, _And Itachi, Kisame, don't bother with trying to kill me for the bounty that's on my head. I'm tired and don't feel like attacking anyone right now. And I'm fully capable of killing both of you; if you have any doubts, I can show you some of my memories. Killing an Uchiha or Mist nin would be nostalgic...Yes, my Deniizu-chan, you can show your own memories to others. ...I see...you've only come to the point where you can bring other people's memories to their mind's surface...yes...I'll admit I'm disappointed in you, Deniizu."_

Deniizu gasped out loud; suddenly it felt as if something was holding her by the neck and lifting her into the air. Even before touching her throat frantically, she knew that it was her father's doing; it still came as a shock, though.

_I knew he was good. I didn't think he was this good,_ Deniizu thought, trying to get into her father's mind. But if she couldn't get into the mind of her teacher, Satoki Inel, she didn't stand a chance with Yasusora Kurosaigo, the master of the Yasusora bloodline limit, and all present on that forest road knew it.

_Why aren't you guys helping me?_ Deniizu asked, with a mixture of both anger and fear in the tone her thought.

_He's holding us down, _Kisame answered dully, _Otherwise we would have already left you here._

_You're so funny,_ Deniizu sneered sarcastically.

_"So, you've been trying to track me down for all these years," _Kurosaigo laughed; he was obviously amused.

Deniizu realized that at the same time that he was holding all four ninja still when they were struggling against them, talking to them with both his mind and voice, and staying inside of all of their minds when all of them were trying to push him out, he was also going through Deniizu's memories.

_"You can't even read memories without staying properly conscious, Deniizu?"_ Kurosaigo shook his head, _"I'm _very_ disappointed in you. I expected that by now you might have at least been able to double speak."_

_He's so strong, _was all that Deniizu could think, over and over again; Kurosaigo was still holding her up in the air by the throat, _I'm too weak against him..._

_"Tsk...you should have figured out by now that the only way to beat me, is by using our clan's dreaded kinjutsu; the forbidden technique."_

_...you mean the Ae Nai Akasaigo,_ Deniizu thought,_ The Tragic Red Death..._

_"So you haven't been completely stagnant with your training,"_ Kurosaigo sighed in relief, _"As you have already guessed a few weeks ago, it wasn't a staring contest that I held with that young shinobi. He was a distant cousin of yours, by the way. No, it was a mental battle between us; the Ae Nai Akasaigo can only be countered by itself, and it can only be overcome by a stronger attack of the same technique. That staring contest was the boy trying to overcome my attack; of course he failed. ..._he_ had mastered Double Speech, Deniizu-chan, and _he_ died. Do I give you the same treatment, or will you spare me your dramatics and leave me alone, without a fight?"_

Deniizu tried to calm herself; if it wasn't her temper that was threatening to bubble over, it was her fear that wanted to take over. Not to mention that she was having a lot of trouble breathing; being held up by one's throat was not very comfortable.

_"Yes, you do need a clear head to be able to do anything properly,"_ Kurosaigo said, nodding his approval to Deniizu's unspoken thought, while letting her down slowly to stand on her feet on the ground, _"Now. What is your choice? You still haven't made up your mind."_

_As if this is an easy choice for her, _Itachi thought, still straining his muscles to move forward and attack Kurosaigo, or at least break the older man's concentration, _She's been waiting for years for a chance to slit her father's throat, and now...now she finds herself unable to even move. This will only make her angrier and more ready for another chance to attack._

_"But you see, Itachi, even if she hunts me down again, I will always be stronger,"_ Kurosaigo said, uncaring as to who else would hear this thought, _"Either I will become tired of her, and she will die, or she will realize the futility of trying to kill me, and simply give up."_

_Sure. That's definitely going to happen,_ Kisame thought sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

_I suppose it will rain purple-striped kunai on the day that Deniizu gives up,_ Korii thought, coincidentally agreeing with Kisame's thoughts, though none of them could hear the other's thoughts; only Deniizu and Kurosaigo could hear other people's thoughts.

_"Yes or no, Deniizu," _Kurosaigo said sharply, no longer in as good a mood as he had been a few minutes before, _"I have another clan member to hunt, and you're only slowing me down. Yes, Kisame, I'm hunting them down. I can't let your organization discover our secrets, after all."_

_He's good,_ Kisame thought bitterly, _He can read my thoughts without my knowing the filthy...!_

Kisame found himself suddenly bending backwards, further than his body was meant to. He realized that Kurosaigo was threatening to snap his back completely.

_"Dare you continue to complete that thought, Kisame?"_

_...One thing's for sure,_ Korii thought, seeing Kisame's body contort, and guessing what was happening, _Lack of restraint when it comes to paying back insults is a father-daughter thing._

_"Heheheh...you're a cool-headed boy," _Kurosaigo thought appreciately.

Suddenly, Kisame was released and allowed to drop to the ground, Itachi was turned, telekinetically, so that when he was released, he lurched away from Kurosaigo, Korii felt the invisible restraints disappear, and Deniizu could only watch as her father walked away in a stately manner.

_"Good choice, my Deniizu,"_ Kurosaigo said, nodding while he walked away, _"Good choice. I'll watch for your return," _and he was gone.

There was a moment of silence. Korii and Itachi looked at Deniizu; she was staring after where her father had gone, but she wasn't moving. Even her face betrayed no secrets; she had absolutely no expression. Kisame got up calmly, if a little undignified, and looked at each of the three before beginning to walk off the road into the surrounding forest.

"I suggest we staying here for the night," he said over his shoulder, "We can collect our thoughts and re-strategize tomorrow morning."

"All right," Itachi nodded, and began to follow Kisame.

_Heh...no boyfriend wants to meet their girlfriend's father,_ Itachi thought amusedly, _But that was a bit much..._

Korii stepped over to Deniizu and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked at Korii, startlement on her face quickly changing to thoughtfulness.

"...you ok?" Korii asked, a little perturbed by her intense stare.

"Yeah..." Deniizu looked at him for a little longer, then said, "Hey, do you know which way is north now?"

"Um..." Korii looked around, then pointed in one direction, answering, "Yeah. That way. I think he was messing up my thought process; scrambling it, resetting it, or something. I didn't forget; I just couldn't get my thoughts straight."

Deniizu nodded to herself, then began to follow Itachi and Kisame.

_Great,_ Korii realized, _Now I've given her ideas for a new, powerful technique._

"C'mon," Deniizu said over her shoulder, more of an afterthought than concern, "You don't want to get caught alone and out in the open."

_Nice to know you're so concerned,_ Korii thought, not meaning it in the slightest, but still making sure that Deniizu was shut out of his mind, _I want to go home._

* * *

Esperwen: Love Itachi, Deniizu! Why won't you love Itachi! 

Deniizu: I _do_ love Itachi. What're you talking about?

Esperwen: If you loved him, you wouldn't flirt with Korii! I am upset!

Deniizu: You're upset? Really? I couldn't tell.

Esperwen: I should kill you off right here! (pulls out pen and paper)

Ruroni: hey dont kil my oc or i hav rigts to kil urs!

Esperwen: ...fine...(puts away writing utensils) Hey, reader, please review.


	10. Time to Choose

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, contrasting opinions, the phrase 'the plot thickens', friendly convincing...very friendly..., a scene that is a little bit more than fluff, etc. etc.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Time to Choose**

"Deniizu."

Setting up her tent, Deniizu pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at the speaker dully. Korii was putting up his tent right beside hers, she realized; she had been focusing so much on planning more training for herself that she hadn't noticed Korii's presence.

"What?" Deniizu asked, not entirely in the mood to talk.

"...What do you think about just now?" Korii asked after a pause, seeing that Deniizu would rather be on her own; normally, he would leave her alone when she was like that, but this time he had to speak to her.

"My father?" Deniizu asked, her eyes hardening while she hammered a tent peg a little harder than was necessary, "The bastard...I'll get stronger and beat him, just you wait."

Korii rolled his white eyes and calmly stepped on one of his tent pegs to drive it into the ground, in major contrast to how Deniizu was working. It was strange; before, he thought they had plenty in common, but now, he noticed they didn't even set up their tents the same way.

"I don't have time to wait, Deniizu."

Deniizu froze, then stood up and faced Korii properly. Korii put down his tent and stood formally in front of Deniizu, waiting for her to say something.

_I know this is probably a bad time to think something like this,_ Korii thought, _But I really wish she would put down that hammer._

"What do you mean, 'you don't have time'?" Deniizu asked, looking at Korii incredulously.

"Deniizu, think about it," Korii sighed, "All I'm doing out here is following you around. I'm not that useful here; I'm wasting my time crossing countries like this."

"You said you didn't want to stay in Konoha!" Deniizu exclaimed, realizing what Korii was saying, "You can't just go back now!"

"Oh, but I can," Korii shrugged, "And I never said that. I never said any reason why I wanted to go. I just followed. And now I don't want to anymore."

"You can't!" Deniizu protested, frowning and shaking her head; that hammer started to look very, very menacing, "We're almost a month's travel away from Konoha; you'll never make it on your own."

"...This isn't a discussion, Deniizu," Korii said, his calm demeanor the perfect opposite of Deniizu's anger, "I'm going to leave, whether you want me to or not."

He turned back to his tent, and Deniizu thought about what he said for a moment. With a sudden, triumphant smile, she realized a slight flaw in Korii's plans.

_We're following my father, you know, _Deniizu said into Korii's head, also resuming the task of setting up her tent, _Every day, we'll be going further and further away from Konoha. Soon it'll be too far for even you to dare travel._

Deniizu smirked to herself, feeling that she had the upper hand, but Korii's next thought made her drop the hammer she was using.

_Do you honestly think that will stop me, Denise?_

The plot thickens...again...

That night, Deniizu was first with sentry duty for the small camp. Using chakra to walk up the tallest tree, she stood on one of its crowning branches, looking around the moonlit world and just thinking. She needed to think up better training for herself, where her father might go next, how the Ae Nai Akasaigo worked...and yes, she had to admit to herself that she thought about certain people in Suna and Konoha.

"Deniizu?"

Looking to the right where the sound had come from, Deniizu saw Itachi was standing on a neighbouring tree.

"Did you sense my presence?" Itachi asked brusquely, "Or did you let your guard down and I caught you by surprise?"

"I sensed you," Deniizu said quietly, nodding, "Did you show your chi on purpose?"

"...A bit," Itachi admitted, walking along his branch and stepping over to hers, "Are you all right? You've been quiet since what happened earlier."

"Yeah..."

Deniizu looked forward again, and Itachi saw that she was lying; she was still upset about her weakness. Standing right by her, he caught her up in a rough hug and nuzzled her neck affectionately, knowing it was something she enjoyed.

"Mm...what?" Deniizu asked, pushing him back a little, her hands on his chest while she looked up at him.

"You did ok," Itachi murmured, holding her close and speaking into her right temple, "You had no idea he was that strong. None of us did."

"I sucked," Deniizu grumbled, pushing his face away gently, "All I could do was twitch. Barely."

"You know that isn't true," Itachi shook his head, tracing the side of her face with an uncharacteristically gentle touch, "You weren't a coward, you weren't weak. You kept your head and didn't go into hysterics, which is excellent, considering the circumstances. We both know two black-haired kunoichi that probably would have reacted like that."

Deniizu frowned and tried to break away, but Itachi was strong; he kept her right where she was, pressed against him.

"You had no idea what to expect," Itachi continued, whispering into her ear with a tone that weakened Deniizu's knees, "But now we know his weakness. We'll have you master the Ae Nai Akasaigo. You can still kill him; you'll see."

Deniizu looked away for a moment, her thoughts battling with one another, then she sighed and let herself relax against him. Her head against his chest, she could feel the rise and fall of his breathing, his heartbeat...

"Itachi, thank you..." Deniizu snaked her hands up so that her arms hung behind his neck, "But, my love, I'm so sorry. I...I got carried away with Korii and...I don't know. I..." she looked up into his dark eyes regretfully, "I've forgotten you. Please, don't hold it against me; I've finally been free from stupid protocol, and I just wanted to...I don't know. I just...Itachi, please forgive me. I've been a fool, these last months."

Deniizu said it, half expecting a prompt response, but for a moment, she was returned with silence.

_...Oh gawd..._Deniizu thought, suddenly feeling sick, _I was wrong. He'll say 'no'. Oh gawd I feel so stupid. I shouldn't have said all that! He thinks I'm just the biggest, most useless wimp now..._

"...Perhaps," Itachi said finally, in a low tone that Deniizu hadn't heard in a long time.

All at once, Deniizu felt herself being pushed back, and she found herself pinned against the tree trunk behind her. Itachi took her hands and held them high above her head, also against the tree, and he leaned against her comfortably, preventing her from moving.

"But you'll have to convince me," Itachi whispered, his mouth moving against Deniizu's ear.

Deniizu laughed quietly, suddenly relieved, then gasped softly; Itachi could be very clever with his tongue.

"Come on," he purred, moving so that he could rest his forehead against hers, "One kiss. Convince me that you meant what you said."

"...What would happen if I don't try to convince you?" Deniizu asked coyly, twining their legs in such a way that made Itachi pause for a moment.

"I won't forgive you," Itachi answered, _...for more than one reason._

"And if I do?" Deniizu asked, raising her chin slightly in friendly defiance.

"...We'll see," Itachi answered, bowing his head down to investigate her neck.

"That doesn't give me very much incentive," Deniizu remarked carelessly, then her grip on Itachi's hands tightened for a second; Itachi had bitten her.

"Kiss or no, Deniizu," Itachi said, raising his head and locking eye contact with her.

Deniizu looked at him, a small, coquettish smile on her face, then leaned forward to meet his lips with hers.

"Deniizu?" a male voice came from behind Itachi.

Deniizu froze, recognizing the voice, then pushed Itachi backward and looked at the man behind him.

_No...no, it can't be..._Deniizu thought wildly.

For behind Itachi was...Itachi.

"Wha..." Deniizu stopped, a nonplussed look on her face, then completely let her anger take over.

She punched the Itachi she had been about to kiss, enraged, and the young man let her, staying unmoving where he was. The punch sent him reeling backwards, and at once, the illusionary transformation faded away. Korii stood in its place, nursing a growing black eye.

"_Oh-"_

Deniizu closed her eyes and swore at the top of her lungs in as many words as she could think of, in Japanese, English, and Romanian. It helped that the latter was one of the more notorious languages for swearing. A good minute later, she opened her eyes to see Itachi with one hand around the Hyuuga's throat, the other hand on the hilt of his katana, ready to pull it out and strike. Korii, however, was completely calm. If anything, he was trying not to laugh.

Deniizu muttered to herself, still in Romanian, then stomped over and put a restraining hand on Itachi's arm; the one with its hand near the katana.

"Just let him go," she growled, glaring at the unrepentant Hyuuga boy's face, "He doesn't deserve to die, but he doesn't deserve to stay with us for any longer. Make him go home."

"Very well," Itachi nodded, his voice hard, "Korii, you are no longer part of our group. Leave us."

Itachi shoved Korii away from him, but both he and Deniizu couldn't help but notice the triumphant look on the 17-year-old's face. Of course this banishment was what he had been aiming for.

"Thanks," the white-eyed boy nodded, with a small salute, "I've been wanting to go home for weeks."

Deniizu's hands balled into fists, but she knew it wouldn't prove anything to hit Korii again; the boy was so pleased with himself he was quietly laughing. When Korii had finally gotten out of sight, Deniizu screamed wordlessly and punched the tree trunk with as much force as she could muster; it snapped and the top of the tree fell away accordingly. With a groan, Deniizu dropped to her knees and refused to cry any tears of indignation and embarrassment; she had done enough to make a fool of herself with the real Itachi. Wordlessly, Itachi sat beside her, took her up into his arms and held her against him.

"What happened?" Itachi asked, taking the hand she had punched with into his, checking to make sure she hadn't damaged it.

"...I thought he was you," Deniizu lamented, looking up him defenselessly, "I...my love, I chose _you_."

Itachi blinked, but Deniizu continued on, trying to explain herself.

"He came up here, and I...I didn't even think that it was an illusion! I'm weaker than I thought! He...I was so sorry, and I wanted you to know that I hadn't meant to be such a bitch, but now it's all wasted because he...my gawd, I'm such a stu...mmph!"

Itachi covered her mouth with his, silencing her completely with the kiss.

"You chose me?" Itachi asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I did," Deniizu nodded, holding his hand tighter, worried that he might pull away, thinking, _I look like such a desperate..._girl_! Of all things, and have to be such a gi-!_

Again, Itachi interrupted her thoughts, in the same manner he had before.

"You...are such a girl," he said amorously, a slight, rare smile on his face, "And...Deniizu, you're making me soft."

"No, that's not possible," Deniizu laughed quietly, then frowned, "You really are Itachi, right? If you're Kisame, I swear..."

* * *

Ruroni: EXCELENT! MY CHARATCTER HAS HER AWESOME TIM EWITH ITACHI!!! NEXT IT WILL BE MOR THEN JUST FLUFF IT WILL BE SUGGESTIVLY THEMED THEN DARE I SAY IT...

Esperwen: Ugh...

Ruroni: HENTAI!!!!!!!!

Esperwen: NO! These fics are rated T so that we can get away with _some_ suggestive theming, but we're not going to make a whole fic end up with an M or R rating because of one stupid porn-esque chapter!

Ruroni: WAT ABOUT UR HOPES 4

Esperwen: Turn the caps lock off!

Ruroni: wat about ur pooriinxkiba and michikoxshino stuff??

Esperwen: That's none of your business! (looks at reader) OMIGOSH! (back to Ruroni) Great! Now they're either looking forward to or hoping against stronger themes! And, unlike Deniizu and Itachi, Michiko and Shino are being really careful and _responsible_ with their relationship, and Pooriin and Kiba are trying to focus on the friendship part. My gosh! Just because _your_ characters are the way they are, doesn't mean my characters have to be!

Ruroni: u make that sound lik a good thing

Esperwen: Ugh! Forget it! Reader, just review already!


	11. Aburame and Chatora

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, themes or places affiliated, and...stuff...that isn't ours, but is mentioned here, even though we don't own it...and...we're sorry...and...um...

Ruroni: jus write

Espewen: Ok.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Aburame and Chatora**

After another one of their missions, halfway through the fourth month that Deniizu and Michiko had been away, Team 8 all walked home together. It was another walk for the three friends to spend together, not that such times were rare, anymore; their sensei was becoming a little bit more distracted, lately.

"Kurenai-sensei got picked up by Asuma-sensei _again_!" Kiba laughed loudly, and Akamaru barked his agreement with equal volume, "I can't believe this!"

"But...I think they would be cute together," Hinata protested, standing up for her beloved teacher as usual.

Shino chose not to comment in this argument; Hinata and Kiba were at odds to how they should react to their teacher's relationship with Team 10's leader. Kiba thought it was hilarious, and Hinata wanted him to see the sweet, serious side of it. Shino, however, could care less. Sure, they had more free time, but Kurenai was training them as hard as ever, according to her responsibility, so Shino had no problems.

"Yeah, like the 'pretty-girl' and the 'bad-boy' thing isn't completely stupid!" Kiba said, barking with laughter.

"That would make a great love story!" Hinata argued, "Several movies and books are out there with pairings like that!"

"A story's a story; this is reality! It can't work out!" Kiba said, still chuckling to himself.

"Kurenai-sensei seems really happy," Hinata pointed out.

"Ok, no offense, but it's not like she has very much choice," Kiba said, with a slight smirk, "Kakashi-sensei's a horny slacker who reads perverted books, Inel-sensei's about ten years older-"

"And is already married!" Hinata cut in, scandalized, "Kurenai-sensei wouldn't go around...you know...with married-"

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba waved it off, "The guy's married. And sensei wouldn't go after that creepy Ebisu guy. Honestly, something about sunglasses seriously creeps me out."

Shino rolled his eyes, and Hinata was a little glad that they had finally reached the Hyuuga complex. Shino was patient now, but after another dozen insinuated insults from Kiba, well...

"Good night, guys. I'll see you tomorrow," Hinata said, with a slight bow, before opening the great outer doors of her family's huge community.

"Ja ne," Kiba waved airily, and Shino nodded to Hinata before both boys went to walk towards Shino's home; Kiba still went to pick Pooriin up after her daily training.

Hinata started to enter her family's property, but she sensed a presence and froze where she was. Instead of turning right away, she pretended she dropped something and tried to figure out who it was; that aura was dark...but somehow familiar.

_...That shadow over my shoulder,_ Hinata thought, turning around quickly and looking to the other side of the road intently, _That feeling that I'm being watched...but it's friendly; not malignant...could it be...?_

She made as if to activate her Byakugan, but the watcher stepped out of the shadows so that she could see him clearly. Recognizing him, Hinata hurried to cross the street and a familiar boy in black robes strode to meet her halfway.

"Korii-niichan!" Hinata exclaimed happily, stopping just in front of him.

Both bowed formally to the other, and Hinata looked up at her distant cousin's face closely. He looked tired, and by the state of his clothing, Hinata could see he had travelled a long way.

"How are you, Hinata-chan?" Korii asked, a wry smile on his face, "Kiba still being an ass?"

"It _is_ you!" Hinata chuckled softly, thinking, _He's the only relative who calls me 'Hinata-chan', now..._ "I've been all right. Ano, how about you? Where did you go? Oh! And is Deniizu...?"

Hinata's smile slipped a little when Korii shook his head, but she quickly shook it off and ushered the now 17-year-old Hyuuga into the complex.

"That's all right," Hinata smiled gently, "You still have to tell me about your travels, like you always did. Remember? When I was little."

_...She's growing up,_ Korii thought to himself, looking at his cousin by the corner of his eye, _She's more confident...that's good...Not that I care if she and Naruto get together. ...crap, where did that thought come from? I don't even have Michelle around as an excuse._

"I'll tell you while the rest of your team and Pooriin are around," Korii shrugged airily, "But, Hinata?"

The lavender-eyed girl looked up at Korii expectantly while they walked.

"Hai, Korii-niichan?"

"...There's a technique I might need to learn, and I think you're the only one that can teach it to me."

That stupid mystery technique, again!

That same night, now the end of what would be Pooriin's eighth month of training, Shino watched as Kiba walked the girl home from the Aburame household for what was hopefully the final time. Three and a half months after Deniizu and Michiko had gone their separate ways, Tsunade had decided that Shibi had done all he could to find out the weaknesses of the Gorgon. Pooriin was now allowed to train on her own time, but she could always visit Shibi for advice if someone noticed another clue to harnessing the Gorgon's powers; the Fifth Hokage had given the main authority on studying the Gorgon to Aburame Shibi. Still, unless Pooriin did not pass the next genin exam, she had no reason to train with Shibi any longer.

But over the past months, Pooriin's training wasn't the only thing that interested the Chatora and Aburame family. Both Shibi and Pooriin's parents had become close friends; Chatora Purujin and Rumanita were grateful to Shibi for training their daughter, and Shibi found the middle-aged couple to be very generous, friendly people. And the small Chatora family had very few friends, as Shibi had found out one day.

* * *

_"How is it that I never see Goudon or Bikto with the other young ninja?" Shibi asked, in the Chatora household._

_After each month, Shibi would visit Pooriin's home with the official business of how her training was coming along, but once his information session was over, he, Purujin and Rumanita Chatora would converse like the good friends that they had become._

_"Well...they don't usually go out on their own," Purujin admitted reluctantly, suddenly interested in his cup of strong tea._

_"Not to be rude, but why not?" Shibi asked, curiosity getting the better of him._

_"You know that we came in the middle of the year, when our two boys were already accomplished ninja," Rumanita started, absently petting her leopard companion._

_"Yes; you told me that the Thyme Village had their own ninja academy and ways, which is why Bikto had become a chuunin without actually taking an official chunnin exam," Shibi nodded, knowing that many of the smaller villages and countries had similar traditions._

_"Right," Purujin nodded, "Goudon and Bikto did not need to become part of Konoha's ninja academy, but this also meant that the only other ninja their age that they actually met was Akumika, their assigned teammate. Goudon and Bikto don't have many chances to get to know other shinobi, and they both tend to keep to themselves. Except for perhaps Pooriin's friends, the twins don't associate with anybody but us."_

_"I see..." Shibi nodded slowly, and after a few weeks, he deemed it polite to ask: "If you don't mind my asking, what brought your family to Konoha, those months ago?"_

It was all very sudden,_ Shibi thought to himself, waiting for the two parents to answer._

_Purujin looked at his wife, and Rumanita gave her husband a steady look. Clearly, she wanted Purujin to explain._

_"...We found it..._uncomfortable_ to stay in the Thyme Village for any longer," Purujin finally said, after losing the silent argument that passed between him and his wife, "I must be frank with you, Shibi-san, we weren't altogether surprised when we found out that Pooriin-chan was the Gorgon."_

_"No?" Shibi cocked an eyebrow, "Not to pry, but please explain."_

_"When the children discovered Pooriin's ability," Rumanita explained, in a calm voice, though she clutched her teacup tightly, "They said that a group of bandits had informed them about it. Those bandits knew the Gorgon's...skills, as well as her traditional appearance. But a carefully hidden secret about the Gorgon, is the fact that she is always born into...well, into _our_ family. The Chatora have always done their best to prevent the Gorgon from being born, for everybody's sake, such as forbidding the current Gorgon to have children, but that is the Chatora curse: the ultimate killing machine will always be of the Brown Tiger Clan. It doesn't matter if the successor is a direct descendant or not."_

_"Our relatives didn't trust us after Pooriin was born," Purujin said quietly, "They all knew her potential strength, and perhaps they were worried that we may try to use it against them. We thought that so long as we could keep Pooriin from getting angry, our family would learn to accept us again. But for over twelve years, they still wouldn't see that Pooriin was harmless. So, we moved to Konoha, hoping for a fresh start in a large village that we could disappear into."_

_"...Why did you not tell the Hokage?" Shibi asked, "Imagine if the Gorgon had manifested itself in the village! What would happen then?"_

_"...She was shunned once; we won't let it happen again," Rumanita answered firmly, with her chin slightly lifted in defiance._

_Shibi was silent for a long while; the two Chatora worried for a minute that they had offended the jounin. Shibi could admit that he was disappointed with the Chatora; it would have been the good, fair thing to warn the Third Hokage about Pooriin's potential abilities. But then again, they wanted to get into the village, and telling the leader that their daughter could be a threat may have kept them outside of Konoha. And if Shibi knew these Chatora, they had probably been in denial about the possibility of Pooriin being the Gorgon; she had only first manifested it _after_ they had moved to Konoha. And of course, Shibi couldn't help but remember Naruto, who had been shunned from the first, never accepted and never loved, though he had never deserved it; he hadn't asked for the Kyuubi to be sealed into him, just as Pooriin never wanted to be the Gorgon._

* * *

When Pooriin and Kiba turned a corner, Shino moved away from the window, and faced his father, who was seated nearby. Shino examined his father carefully, his eyes hidden as usual behind his sunglasses. A tall man, Shibi didn't seem to have changed much since Shino had been born; he wore the same kind of coat, same sunglasses, same proud bearing...and the same extreme, emotionless logic. 

"You agreed to them?" Shino asked again, for what may have been the twelfth time.

"It is a strong political tactic to do this, as you know," Shibi reminded, ignoring Shino's blunt tone of voice.

"You simply lay down and let them have their way," Shino observed rudely.

"I did not simply 'lie down' and allow the entire clan to their choice," Shibi protested calmly, his voice never changing its tone, "I did think upon its pros and cons, and the pros had more weight."

"Didn't you at least argue?" Shino asked, exasperated; his anger had run out half an hour earlier; Shibi had informed Shino and Pooriin of the decision, during Pooriin's short break from training that day, before Team 8 had gone on their day's mission.

"If by 'argue', you mean 'debate', then of course I did," Shibi said, still so serene.

"But your voice still carries the most impact," Shino said again, "They would have listened to you more avidly if you had only-"

"Shino."

The young bug-user shut his mouth quickly; his father rarely spoke his name that way, but when he did, Shino had learned from experience that silence was the best policy.

"What is done, has been done. The clan has seen what they believe to be a proper match for you in Pooriin-chan; she is gentle, obedient, and her ability as the Gorgon is now considered under control. I realize you have feelings for Michiko-san, but you know that feelings can lie or lead us away from what we really need. Look at Deniizu-kun, for instance."

"But-"

"No, my son. The clan views Michiko-san as too impetuous and headstrong for a proper wife to the future clan leader. And her ability is dangerous, both for the present and future. Either her emotions will go out of control and she will burn our household to the ground, or your future offspring would not be able to harbor the kikaichu."

"Her ability isn't like that! The destruction beetles can still-"

"I _know_, Shino."

Shino looked at his father sharply; the man in front of him no longer sounded calm. Instead, his voice was tired...and regretful.

"_I_ know you are an anomaly. _You_ know you are an anomaly. All of your team, and even Michiko-san herself knows that your kikaichu acted unnaturally to your hormones. But the clan does _not_ know, and they do not believe anything that has not been proven to them. That is our way; you kept your relationship with her such a secret that they did not even know that you were courting her. I have tried to talk them into seeing their mistake, but again, you know that my role as clan leader is mostly ceremonial; we still take democratic votes when a clan decision must be made. And their vote still proved in the vast majority for Pooriin-chan. I am sorry Shino, but I have done all that I can. Their choice still stands."

Shino's jaw tightened, again; he had been gritting his teeth against speaking too angrily or rudely all that day, though his team didn't realize it. Shibi looked at his son levelly, then motioned his hand towards the door; Shino turned on his heel and marched out, completely dismissed. He kept walking, not looking anywhere but forward until he reached his room. Like many other days, Shino wished he could throw a tantrum, punch a wall, scream, just do something to get rid of all that pent-up emotion. But he was a focused ninja, and an Aburame; he wasn't allowed to. Sitting down on his bed, Shino summoned out several kikaichu and practiced several maneuvers that they had to learn as a swarm, just to keep himself busy while he thought.

_Look at this logically, Shino,_ he thought, motioning for his kikaichu to spiral together, like a drill, _Two fair-sized clans will be united; the choice is a strong political move. Michiko is only adopted into a clan, so she can't offer that._

The insects started to fly in a dome; a small version of the Bug Jar Technique around another target.

_Michiko loves to argue with me, sometimes solely for the argument. Pooriin knows how to see a point and listen. Michiko also is unable to help being very emotional, while Pooriin has trained that. This is more favourable in a future wife._

Shino commanded the kikaichu to go out in a circle about a hands' width thick, parallel to the ground and hovering in the air. This served as either an honor guard or a minor imprisonment, depending on who stood in the center.

_Also, if one compares Michiko and Pooriin's capabilities as ninja, Pooriin is already a stronger fighter and more effective tactician. Michiko has poor body strength and finesse in her planning. Her supposed edge, her ability to mold chakra, is next to non-existant; she can only do basic techniques, and her Inuzuka jutsus are very poor, even after months of training._

The kikaichu then began practicing their formations in the air; Shino guided them into various hirigana or kanji so that they could 'speak' to non-bug users.

_Michiko's only strong point is medical jutsu, which...is actually a good thing. But no doubt Father mentioned that in the clan meeting. Pooriin is more friendly than Michiko; Michiko only talks to new people or strangers if she has to. This would make Pooriin a better hostess, which is favourable in the wife of a clan leader._

Shino sighed, barely perceptibly, then called his kikaichu back into his body. At this point, both he and his bugs wanted to give training a rest. And Shino didn't want to think about Pooriin anymore.

_Kamisama...I'm thirteen. I shouldn't have to think about this. None of us should._

_

* * *

_

Esperwen: Review! ...And stuff...

Shino: Is this chapter filler?

Esperwen: Uh...maybe...

Itachi: Is this whole story filler?

Esperwen: Well, I prefer to say that it's informative for future reference-

Shino: Are you saying that we're in a filler fanfic, of all things? How much lower can you get?

Esperwen: Shut up.


	12. A Day in Suna

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naru-

Kiba: Hey, didn't you just put up a new chapter?

Esperwen: I'm losing patience with Ruroni, so this is how I'm taking it out on her. The faster I post, the faster she has to read the next one.

Kiba: ...that logic is so flawed...

Esperwen: Who are you to talk to me about logic?!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: A Day in Suna**

Just before the fifth month into Michiko's training in Suna, the black-haired girl put a letter she had just received down on her small desk, and sat down hard onto her bed. She had read and re-read that letter countless times since it had arrived the week before. Perhaps she secretly thought the words would change, but of course they never did. Something about her lack of received letters for the past month had hinted to her that something was wrong, and she had been right to think so.

"Michiko-chan?" Temari's voice called from the closed door, and Michiko scrubbed her face hastily, "Are you up yet?"

"Um...y-yeah!" Michiko called back, hurrying to hide the letter, but Temari opened the door and Kankurou, who was with her, saw the white paper anyways.

"Hello there!" Kankurou said smugly, moving quickly and snatching the paper from Michiko's hands before she could do anything about it, "What's this? Another letter from your buggy lover?"

_Ugh..._Michiko thought, annoyed despite of her prior sadness, _Ever since he found out I was dating Shino, he's been worse than ever._

"Hey, he's been cheating on you?" Kankurou asked after reading the letter, too shocked to make another jibe at Michiko.

"_What?_ Let me see that!" Temari exclaimed, deftly taking the paper from Kankurou and reading the short letter quickly.

"I mean, I knew he was a prick, but I didn't think-" Kankurou winced after Michiko neatly kicked him in the shin, "Ow! You caught me off guard there..."

"Some shinobi you are," Michiko rolled her eyes with a growl, before holding a hand out to Temari for her letter, "Are you done violating my privacy, yet?"

"Just about," Temari nodded, somewhat regretfully, giving the paper back to Michiko, "I'm sorry, I thought Kankurou was kidding. But...wow. I didn't...I'm sorry about that, girl."

"Yeah," Michiko shrugged, feigning that she didn't care while placing the paper carefully onto her stack of letters from Hinata, "C'mon, get out of my room; I'm gonna be late for my lesson."

"Yeesh," Kankurou grumbled, "We came to pick you up out of friendliness; we didn't have to, you know. You could at least be a little gratef-."

Temari clapped a hand over her brother's mouth and gave him a stern look; silently admitting that he had overdid things, Kankurou stayed silent when Temari took her hand away. If Michiko heard him speak, she didn't make any sign of it; she left both Temari and Kankurou in her small suite, trusting them to close the front door for her.

"...That letter was a week old," Temari whispered to her brother, following Michiko down the stairs, out the apartment building, and down the street to where Michiko's sensei, Kazuma, lived, "I guess that explains why she's been so quiet lately. Well, for her; she was never a big talker."

"I feel bad for her," Kankurou nodded morosely.

"...No, you don't!" Temari exclaimed, punching him in the arm after examining his face carefully, "You just want an excuse to fight Shino-san!"

"That bastard made me look like an amateur..." Kankurou let his voice trail off ominously, but Temari only sighed. Gaara wasn't the only brother who could be a handful.

Kankurou doesn't actually hate Michiko. He's just kind of crude, that's all.

Michiko ambled slowly through the streets that night, this was one of the months that she could go home, but she had opted for two extra solid months of medical training, since her teacher, Kazuma, was getting her through a particularly difficult jutsu. The technique required changing chakra into electricity, and Firu had warned her about the lightning element.

* * *

_"Remember what I said about girls and guys having slightly different talents with our clan's bloodline limit?" Firu asked Michiko, visiting her for one short day in Suna, "Well, I read something new in the clan's book. Guys can't use the 'spirit' element, like I told you, and girls can't channel or store lightning in their bodies."_

_"You still have to show me that technique, by the way," Michiko cut in with a smile._

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The thing is, you can still transform chakra into lightning, but you'll have trouble, and it won't be for very long. You know the Raikiri technique that Kakashi can do? Yeah, you can't do that. I can, but not you. You suck like that."_

_"...Thanks. That's nice," Michiko said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, then laughed and ducked Phil's half-hearted swat at her head._

_"Guys can still use chi to sense people," Firu continued, "But we can't use it as well as you guys. And if we try to hard, we could go into a coma. And if you try to create too much electricity, you risk the technique backfiring and short-circuiting yourself."_

_"And that would be a bad thing," Michiko nodded thoughtfully._

* * *

Michiko didn't want to stop training and end up forgetting half of what she'd learned of the technique during her break, which was why she was staying for longer than necessary. She intended to stay in the Hidden Sand until the month that Deniizu would be returning to Konoha; all portal-users wanted to be together to go back into Michiko, Deniizu, Pooriin, Korii, Firu and Inel's original world for the first time in about six months.

But the "Heart Restarting Technique" was not the only reason Michiko wanted to stay in Suna; she was glad she had decided to stay in the Hidden Sand after she had recieved her letter, a week earlier. The letter Kankurou and Temari had read that morning had been from Korii. The joy that she had felt because Korii had returned to Konoha was short-lived; he had been the one chosen to tell her that Shino was now engaged. Since Shino had recently turned 13, the Aburame clan had decided it was time to arrange for his future spouse; now he would have several years' time to get to know the girl before he got married when he turned 18. And as it turned out, Chatora Pooriin was their first choice in bride-to-be. The Aburame clan had nothing against Michiko or the Inuzuka clan; it was all strictly business. A union between both the Chatora and Aburame would be all politics and strategy; nothing personal. Of course, nothing was official; there were still other clans that held promising choices.

_I can't go back now,_ Michiko thought sadly, _It would be so...awkward and...it wouldn't feel like home... I'll try to arrange a more permanent stay in Suna with Tsunade-sama and the Hidden Sand's counsel._

"G'night, boys," Michiko said quietly, getting ready to leave her four dogs at a small kennel between her place and where Kazuma lived; the owners of her apartment building didn't allow 'pets', and Michiko couldn't afford anywhere else to live in Suna.

Can't I just walk with you? Athos asked, like every night since they arrived, pawing at her foot anxiously.

"Athos, you're tired now."

I can make it, I promise.

"You know you can't travel around on your own, and none of the others want to accompany you now. Look, they're all falling asleep."

I'm the biggest one, Mii-chan, I can get back here on my own! Besides, _you_ shouldn't be alone; not now.

Michiko looked down at the brown dog in front of her. He was right; Athos was getting huge for his age. All four of her dogs were mutts; the mixture of breeds in their blood gave them a bit of freedom to grow into whatever form suited them best. Athos was already tall enough that his head reached Michiko's mid-thigh, while Aramis, in comparison, was still just tall enough for his head to be level with the half-way point on Michiko's shin. And Michiko didn't really want to be left alone that night.

"...All right," Michiko nodded, allowing Athos to win, as he always did in the evenings, and she straightened up and began walking down to street, towards her apartment building.

...when will we go back to Konoha, Mii-chan? Athos asked curiously after a minute of silence.

"...just a bit over another two months," Michiko answered after a moment, "But don't worry; we're heading into that other world when we return to Konoha."

That's good, Athos yipped, trotting beside his human, happy to have something to look forward to; some of the children in the Hidden Sand were not friendly to dogs, while most people in Konoha and 'Canada' loved the Four Musketeers, What's our plan for tomorrow?

"Just the usual," Michiko shrugged, "Lessons with Kazuma-sensei, training in some deserted place, home again...you know."

Today, just like every other day in Suna, after about eight hours of lessons with Kazuma, Michiko had gone grocery shopping, then spent the last four hours working with her dog team and bloodline limit. She had decided that she would be the ultimate healing ninja, which meant that she'd have to sacrifice a lot of her fighting training, so her goal was to develop her bloodline limit as best as she could. Haruno Sakura deserved to get all the glory of being the best medical ninja; Michiko would never be as good, since Tsunade-sama was the best, while Kazuma-sensei was only one of the best. But with a deadly bloodline limit, and a few Inuzuka techniques, Michiko could be the perfect secret weapon. Or at least the perfect bodyguard.

One thing that Michiko had noticed about herself in the past few weeks, was that she could only fight properly if she was either angry, or protecting somebody else. Otherwise, she would always be conscious of the fact that she might make a mistake and hurt someone too much. It had been hard, and Michiko didn't like it, but she realized and accepted that Haku's whole 'killing the heart' technique wasn't working well for her. A medic with a ninja ranking of chuunin was the best future for her, she knew.

...You never go out to meet people, when you're here, Athos observed after some thought.

"I thought you didn't like people," Michiko teased, patting her dog on the head.

Yeah, but still, Athos protested, You never really seem yourself until we get back to Konoha.

"I guess I still need some adjusting," Michiko shrugged, trying to make light of the subject, "It's no big deal."

Athos looked at Michiko in the corner of his eye, then shook his head and continued walking in silence. He knew his human needed people for company; _real_ company, instead of the short visits that she could spare when meeting Temari and Kankurou. But she never had the time.

Michiko sighed quietly when her apartment building came into view, resigned to the fact that her life in Suna was nothing like how things were in Konoha. Her apartment was near the Kazekage's building, and where the Sand Siblings lived; she guessed that Temari and Kankurou probably wouldn't walk her to her morning training as often as they did if she had lived further away. If anything, they were only doing it since she helped heal Gaara

_Suna hasn't chosen a new Kazekage yet,_ Michiko thought, _They're pretty vulnerable without a proper leader..._

The black-haired girl had come 'home' later than usual that day; her constant training had enabled her to draw on more chakra than she used to, and she had spent more time practicing her bloodline limit. So she saw something new that evening; a movement on the Sand Siblings' roof caught her eye, and she turned to look. Gaara had used his sand to carry him to the roof, and as he sat there, he began looking at the moon.

_...I guess he does that every night,_ Michiko thought, recalling how the silent boy was unable to fall asleep without becoming a total destroyer.

Athos looked from Michiko at her door, to Gaara on the roof, and back again. Ever since they had arrived in the Hidden Sand, neither Michiko nor her four dogs saw Gaara very often. The brown-haired boy mostly kept to himself; not even his siblings knew where he went off to. Everyone in the village simply assumed that he trained on his own. And nobody dared get close to him; the portal-travellers, a few Konoha ninja like Naruto and Lee, as well as his siblings knew that he was a changed shinobi, but most people in Suna still viewed him as the unstable One-Tailed Demon.

I bet he gets lonely, with everyone avoiding him, Athos thought out loud, watching Michiko as he spoke.

"Just what I was thinking. It's hard when everyone avoids you..." Michiko agreed, then blinked and stared at her dog for a moment, "Wait, you don't mean-"

Yep.

"_Eh?_ But...no way!"

Go for it!

"Th...No!"

Why not?

"Well, what would I say to him?"

A greeting would be a good start.

"Oh, you think you're so _funny_."

Mii-chan, just try it! You need a friend, he needs a friend...c'mon.

"You've been hanging around Kiba for waaaaay too long. Getting just as annoying..."

But I'm cuter, and that's what really matters.

Michiko shook her head, making as if to enter her apartment building. Go say 'hi' to Gaara? The idea was ridiculous. But, after putting a hand on the doorknob, Michiko looked up at Gaara again; he had his back to her. Athos was right; both of them needed a friend, and both only ever had the time or mood to talk when it was too late to see anybody else. After a moment of careful thought, Michiko rolled her eyes at Athos, shrugged, then quietly marched to the other building, her faithful dog trotting behind. What could it hurt? Gaara was different now; maybe he would say 'hi' back.

Once they reached the building's wall, Michiko made a few hand seals and touched Athos' footpads with them. The jutsu made chakra temporarily become a sort of adhesive, and since the brown dog was too heavy for Michiko to carry anymore, the 'sticky' chakra enabled him to walk up the wall on his own, while Michiko used her own chakra.

_Walking up a wall, parallel to the ground...being a ninja can be so cool,_ Michiko couldn't help but think, climbing the wall with no hands.

As she came up onto the roof, Gaara turned around; he had heard her coming. Michiko slowed down her walk unintentionally; here was Gaara of the Sand, viewing her with absolutely no expression, not giving her any clue as to what he felt or was thinking. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

_And I thought _Shino_ was pretty hard to figure out,_ both girl and dog thought.

_...Shino's becoming less and less mysterious when we keep meeting people that overdo things more, or are more silent...I kind of feel bad for him,_ Athos thought, not in an unfriendly way.

All three on the roof stared at the other party, none of them saying anything. Suddenly, the newcomers wished they were back on the ground; Gaara's eyes could be disconcerting at times. Those eyes didn't yield any information about his thoughts, but he seemed to know everything about theirs.

"...Evening," Michiko greeted finally, nodding and kneeling near Gaara where he wouldn't have to turn to look at her, but not blocking his view of the moon; she didn't feel comfortable enough to sit right beside him.

"Evening," Gaara nodding back, not taking his eyes off of her for a second.

_Hey, he said 'hi' back! Cool! ...He doesn't really trust me,_ Michiko thought, _Well, he isn't Shino. What's with me and comparing people to Shino? ...stop thinking about Shino._

"Um...what're you doing up here?" Michiko asked quietly, while Athos lay down on his stomach right beside her, wisely not barking at or jumping on Gaara; that was something D'Artagnan or Porthos might do.

"Nothing," Gaara shrugged, shifting his gaze to look up at the moon, much to Michiko's relief.

"...you come up here often?" Michiko asked, unable to help but notice that Gaara's conversational habits hadn't changed at all after his fight with Naruto.

"Every night," Gaara admitted, still gazing at the moon.

Knowing Gaara wasn't going to say much more, Michiko turned and looked at the moon herself; it was a crescent moon, waning towards disappearing completely.

_The moon's _big_ here,_ Michiko realized, having never noticed before, _It seems so small back in Konoha, or in the other world, but here..._

Both Michiko and Athos stayed with Gaara for a while, just looking at the moon, caught in their own thoughts. Surprisingly, Michiko liked sitting with Gaara; she didn't feel as afraid or in awe of him as she used to, before she had climbed the wall. When Athos started yawning and Michiko felt tired, both said goodnight to Gaara and climbed back down. Gaara said goodnight back to them, and nothing more, but neither dog nor girl felt any hostility in him. The next night, they went back, and after the same greeting as before, all three of them watched the moon, until Michiko and Athos became tire, and then they left again, but they kept returning, night after night.

At first, Gaara would never really speak up while they looked up at the night sky, but after a couple weeks, Michiko noticed that he would occasionally point out different planets or satellites (A/N: As in comets and such, not spaceships or anything...). Sometimes, Michiko would mention how things were like in Konoha; not long speeches about it; just a comment or short memory. Likewise, Gaara would mention something about Suna from time to time. Michiko guessed that he was only doing it to be polite, and yet she couldn't help but imagine that they were gaining a friendship.

* * *

Esperwen: PLOTLINES! EVERYWHERE!

Shino: Excuse me. I get engaged, so she starts hitting on Gaara?

Michiko: I'm not hitting on anyone! What...what are you, insane?!

Shino: What else am I supposed to think?

Michiko: Uh, hello? Earth to Shino? This is _Gaara_? Sand's Ultimate Weapon?

Shino: I don't trust that guy...

Gaara: Join the club. They've got jackets.

Michiko: Where did _you_ come from?!

Esperwen: Enough! This is weirding me out...

Monoka: Hiya! I'm the ex-bandit with green hair! Have an onigiri, and then review!

Michiko: Wha...Where did _you_ come from?!

Kankurou: Is it just me, or is Michiko more excitable than usual, here?

Michiko: GAH! ...How did you...?!

Pakkun: (poof) Yo.

Michiko: ...I can't do this anymore. Goodbye. I think I'll go short-circuit myself. (walks away) Kakashi-san? Teach me Chidori!


	13. Desert Raid

DISCLAIMER: We disclaim any rights worth disclaiming that might be claimed with respect to claims on characters, claimed themes, or areas that have been claimed by some claimer. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Desert Raid**

Halfway through the fifth month of her medical training, the young Inuzuka girl had taken advantage of an unusual surge of chakra, and had trained her bloodline limit for an extra hour than usual. Michiko had noticed for a while now that her chakra supply was greater than it used to be; she guessed that her constant training had granted her this. Training her limit in Suna was better than in Konoha; in the desert, it was mostly open space, while Konoha had trees and buildings to watch out for. With all the open area, Michiko could test her abilities limits with very little risk of damaging anything or hurting anyone.

That day's training did not drain her entirely, but both she and Athos felt more tired than usual when they joined Gaara on the roof. After her usual "Good evening" and Gaara's typical silent nod, she didn't talk as much while looking at the almost-full moon; normally she chatted about light subjects or voiced things she saw in the sky, but this evening, she was silent. Athos, too, acted differently than usual, and had forgotten himself and collapsed on his stomach between the two genin, but ending up closer to Gaara than he normally did. Too tired to move, and knowing by now that Gaara did not harbour any killing intent towards Michiko, the large, brown dog stayed right where he was. Though apprehensive at first, Michiko didn't think anything of it after Gaara did not complain or move Athos with his sand. But then a strange thing happened.

"...Tired?" Gaara asked in a quiet voice, reaching out and gently placing a hand on Athos's back.

Yep, Athos answered, exhausted, though to Gaara it sounded more like: "Wmmph."

Slowly, Gaara patted the large dog, then let his hand rest in the coarse, brown fur. Michiko watched the boy silently, with a mildly surprised expression on her face, though she was too tired for the event to properly click into her head right away. Gaara looked at Michiko expressionlessly, then shrugged and said, "I like him," before looking up at the sky again.

_...I think I'm hallucinating,_ Michiko thought, following the boy's gaze up to his favourite part of the sky: the moon.

She had been working hard throughout that long, hot day; Michiko's eyelids grew heavy, and she found her thoughts going in circles.

_I must be tired to be imagining that. Would Gaara mind if I fell asleep right here? Because I'm pretty darn tired...two weeks before we go back to Konoha...yeah, that's me, really tired...hope he doesn't mind...Gaara petting Athos is...sure sign of 'tired'...back to Konoha...I'm really...hm...really..._

Unknown to Michiko, Gaara often glanced at her whenever they sat on the roof, wondering what she was there for. He wasn't used to people coming to _him_ for friendship, and he had always viewed friendship as a 'lovey-dovey' affair. All he wanted was to be needed by the village, such as by being the Kazekage; he didn't realize that that was a form of friendship, too. When he looked back at Michiko several minutes later, he blinked, then shook his head gently when he saw she had fallen asleep. Sitting cross-legged, her head was bowed forward, and her long hair served as a sort of screen around her face. Someone had actually let their guard down and fallen asleep near Gaara of the Hidden Sand.

"...I like her, too," Gaara said quietly, half to himself, and half to Athos.

The dog rolled over and looked up at the green-eyed boy thoughtfully. He was still watching Michiko, one corner of his mouth just slightly twitching. The beginnings of a smile, perhaps?

_He doesn't look at her like Shino,_ Athos thought, _But not like Kiba or Korii either. I don't get it..._

Michiko must have been quite exhausted, because she was starting to snore a little; Athos silently got up and helped her lie down so she would be more comfortable. To the dog's surprise, some sand was helping him set her down, so that she wouldn't wake up.

"...Don't tell anyone," Gaara said quietly, when Athos sat down beside him again, "I'm not allowed to be soft. Either I or all of Suna will be attacked if people find out."

_That's got to be the longest thing I've ever heard you say,_ Athos thought, but instead he said, Why?

Gaara must have understood somehow, by either Athos' eyes or the tone of his whine, because he answered simply, "I have to be the best."

I always thought it was the village Kage that had to be the best, Athos said, not understanding.

Gaara stared at Athos, then shook his head slowly; he couldn't understand what Athos had said.

Just then, both of them heard screams coming from nearby. Sputtering "Who? Wha?" a few times, Michiko sat bolt upright, awakened by the shrill noise, and all three of the group on the roof got up to see what was happening; Michiko and Athos hurried to the edge of the roof, but Gaara rose and walked smoothly, once again displaying his ultimate calm. The Aburame clan would have been appreciative of his serenity.

"There's a small raid over there!" Michiko exclaimed, quickly jumping to the wall of the nearby building, using chakra to stick, then jumping back and forth between walls to let herself down, with Athos right behind.

Gaara had a more graceful way to get down; he simply let his sand carry him down, and even a little way along the road, so that Michiko had to hurry to catch up. Both of them knew that it was their duty as shinobi to step into the fight; Gaara had to protect the village, and Michiko had to help her own village's allies. As they ran, Athos howled long and loud; he was calling for his three brothers to join them. Michiko was a little glad they were in the market district of Suna, rather than the residential area; she hated bothering people so late at night. Soon, they cleared the village's buildings and were running across an open area of sand; the house where the screams originated from was set apart from all the others.

"There's just a small group," Michiko noticed, chewing on two soldier pills; she needed more than that to get a boost like her usual supply of chakra, she knew, but it was considered an overdose to have more than two pills within the same half hour, "Only four; two just went inside, while the others are keeping watch. How about we each take two, Gaara-sama?"

"You go left," Gaara nodded, and both he and Michiko hurried to counter the four raiders.

The house that was being attacked was a little apart from the rest of the buildings, at the edge of the village towards open desert. It was a small building, but Gaara had seen it while training; he knew that a family of five lived there. They weren't a well-to-do family, but they had food and water, which was probably what the raiders were after, by the look of it.

_Time to fight,_ Gaara thought, hoping that the One-Tailed Demon inside of him would not take over his body and mind again.

_Will we be all right?_ Michiko thought, patting the heads of her other three dogs, which had caught up to her, _How is Gaara going to react to blood, now? ...no matter. We have to deal with one problem at a time. And right now, it's time to see if there's a back way into that house._

NINJAS! ...yes...

Gaara's two opponents were actually the scouts for the small band. Since they were not trained ninja, they didn't stand a chance against Gaara.

"Hey, pass me some of that water," a scruffy-looking young man said to his companion.

"Here," the dark-haired raider shrugged, passing the container, "There isn't much left. ...Huh, the screaming stopped. That was fast."

"Damn, you're right about the water," the first agreed, only able to get a few drops out of the canteen, "At least we'll get more from whoever's in the house...Hey, did you hear someth-!"

Gaara controlled the sand around both raiders' feet, and used it to wrap around both men, completely encasing them in sand, rendering them immobile. Sand even covered their mouths, preventing them from speaking to each other or swearing at Gaara.

_Kamisama...it's Suna no Gaara! I didn't realize that this was the Hidden Sand!_ the second bandit thought, _I thought it was just another big desert village._

Hearing calls from behind, towards the village, Gaara looked back and saw that he and Michiko weren't the only ones who had heard screams. Seven other ninja, including Kankurou and Temari, were running over to the isolated house.

"What happened?" Temari asked brusquely, her fan at the ready, "We heard someone calling for help."

"Raiders," Gaara answered, acting as if it happened every day. Which it did; even ninja villages were not spared from raids or attacks from outlaws.

At that moment, a commotion burst through the house's front door. Athos was dragging a young woman out of the house by the hem of her shirt, and Porthos was tugging on her skirt, while Aramis stood on her shoulders and used his longish, slender body to act as a sort of gag over her mouth or a blindfold over her eyes. D'Artagnan also did his part by clinging onto her back, throwing around his weight and keeping her from being properly balanced so that she was forced to go where the brown and mottled dogs led her. All four of them snarling angrily, the dogs managed to drag her to where her two bandit companions were, in the midst of the eight ninja. As soon as they were sure she was surrounded, the pack let her go, except for Aramis, who stayed where he was, preventing her from speaking; even then, the three other dogs stayed in a triangle formation around her, guarding her.

"Smart dogs," one of the Sand Shinobi nodded appreciatively.

"They were trained to do that," Kankurou said bluntly, "They wouldn't do that on their own."

"Aren't those Kazuma-san's apprentice's dogs?" another ninja asked.

When Gaara nodded a third ninja asked, "But where is she?"

Temari rolled her eyes at what she realized was a stupid question, and marched into the small house with two followers. One of the ninja that had come with her was an experienced chuunin; she would ask Gaara the proper questions and give the bandits the treatment they deserved. Inside the small house, furniture was overturned, walls were slashed by the raiders' weapons; what little the poor family had was either destroyed or rendered useless. But it wasn't the ruined belongings that caught Temari's eyes; a mother, father, two young children and their aunt had lived in the house.

She saw the father's body first; he had tried to stop the bandits at the door. The aunt had been next; she probably had made the other three go deeper into the house while she stayed in the house's main room; she certainly had done her best to stop the attackers, if those wounds were any indication. Following a noise and going through another doorway, Temari saw that the mother had pushed the children ahead of her; it was a narrow hallway, and only one person could go at a time.

_Stabbed in the back,_ Temari realised, shaking her head as she stepped around the woman's body, _Probably while she was hurrying the kids down the hall. The damn cowards..._

There was no back door to the house, Temari realized, going through the last door in the hallway. A window was open, and one child's body was on the floor, turned away from the doorway so Temari couldn't see his face. But she realized from the body's size that it was the older child; even then, he had only been about five years old. Michiko was in the room; she was fluctuating between forming into fire and water, somehow; she was with a woman about the same age as the one the dogs had dragged outside. Michiko's hands were around the woman's throat, but she wasn't squeezing. Still, from the burn marks on the walls and floor, and from the terrified look on the woman's face, Michiko must have done something before simply holding the raider against the wall like that.

"How could you...?" Michiko whispered to the woman, tearstreaked but with an enraged expression on her face, "You monster, how could you...?"

Temari looked back at the boy on the floor; his wounds were fresher even than that of his parents or aunt. Michiko must have seen it happen when she came into the room. She felt badly for the family, but now wasn't the time to grieve.

"Hey," Temari said quietly, gingerly putting a hand on Michiko's shoulder, and was relieved when Michiko's form stopped changing, "That's enough. Don't be dramatic right now. I'll take her outside; you look around the house for the other kid."

"Huh?" Michiko turned her head and looked at the older girl blankly.

"This family had two kids," Temari explained gently, "Now, let her go and look for him. I can handle this one."

Michiko looked back at the woman, hesitated, then shakily took her hands away from the woman's neck. Temari murmured her approval, then took the raider by the arm, none too gently, and steered her through the house and back out into the night. Michiko covered her face in her hands, trying to compose herself, then wiped her eyes and looked around the room. Except for the dead boy, there was nobody else in the room; the other child was somewhere else.

* * *

Itachi: Excellent...now Michiko will learn how to become a young demon, letting her inhibitions to kill fall away, and she will be unsurpassable!

Deniizu: Hey, what about me?!

Itachi: ...I said 'Deniizu'. Not Michiko.

Shino: Why is _Gaara_ here again?

Esperwen: All will be revealed in time...oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo...

Deniizu: Why didn't Gaara make friends with me instead?! I wanna be a demon, too!

Ruroni: al in good time my caracter...now reader it is time 4 u 2 reveiw!!


	14. What Hana Thinks

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, and we are now distracted, because we are playing the ebil game of Moglin Punting, which we also do not own...

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: What Hana Thinks**

Pooriin woke up reluctantly, a bit under two weeks before Michiko and Deniizu would return to Suna. Sunlight was already streaming into her room; it was only a few hours before midday.

_It feels good to sleep in,_ Pooriin thought, still drowsy while wiping sleep out of her eyes, _I don't have to get up so early for training with Shibi-sensei anymore._

"HEY, SLACKER! GET UP ALREADY!" Bikto's voice came piercingly through Pooriin's closed door, "YOU WANNA BECOME A KUNOICHI, OR WHAT?"

Pooriin sat bolt upright upon hearing her brother's voice, eyes wide and completely awake. Bikto had succeeded in starting her day off with an unpleasant bang, like usual. When she heard him stomping down the hall, away from her door, Pooriin slouched, scrubbed her face with her hands irritably, then threw her head back and groaned, "_Noooo...!_" for about half a minute before she forced herself out of bed. Muttering to herself incoherently, she stumbled to the screen in her room so that she could get dressed for the day. Her basic emotional training may be done, but her physical and intellectual work with her brothers had another month to go.

_For the ants, there is no rest,_ Pooriin recalled Shibi saying to her one day, _Even in the winter, when there is no food to harvest, the ants are still active underground, preparing for spring. They care for their children to increase their numbers and strength. The same is with the ninja; we have no rest. Even in times of peace, when there is no war, the ninja still train, preparing for the time that they will be needed. They train more ninja to add to their ranks, and train themselves to become stronger._

_And I have to train myself, even if I'm not a ninja yet, or have a sensei,_ Pooriin sighed inwardly, letting herself collapse to the floor limply, a dark cloud hovering over her, before she got up and began to brush her hair.

After all her training, Pooriin was still her same dramatic self, with the same exaggerated gestures and sighs. But when she was in a fight, or when there was a large about of emotional stress, Pooriin could school herself to become calm and detached. She wasn't quite at the Aburame or Gaara level, but she was above most genin already.

Kunoichi rock! Woot!

That afternoon, Hinata met with Pooriin after the latter had finished solo training, in Michiko and Deniizu's old training field. When she approached the Chatora, Hinata bowed formally, as usual, noting that Pooriin's face was completely smooth, yet focused, while Pooriin went through several fighting forms; with a slight pang of sadness, Hinata realized that even Pooriin had an emotionless ninja mask to wear, now. But as soon as Pooriin was finished her last practice punch, the dark-haired girl smiled broadly and enveloped Hinata in an affectionate hug. Hinata laughed softly and hugged back; Pooriin was still Pooriin.

"Hina-chan! I haven't seen you in almost a week!" Pooriin exclaimed, stepping back to look at her friend with a smile, "How've you been?"

"All right," Hinata nodded, with a small smile, "My team's just been so busy lately...How have _you_ been?"

Hinata raised her eyebrows slightly in concern, and Pooriin let her smile fade just a little. Both were thinking about Pooriin and Shino's possible engagement.

"I guess I could be worse," Pooriin answered quietly, then looked down, "Um...how's...how is Kiba doing?"

Both the girls' smiles disappeared completely, and they sighed simultaneously. Kiba.

"He still hasn't spoken to you?" Hinata asked, and Pooriin shook her head.

"He doesn't know what to do with...well, with _us_," Pooriin said, "Since Shino and I...you know..."

"Hai," Hinata nodded sadly, "So, for six weeks, he hasn't spoken to you at all."

"Well, Hana tried to arrange a meeting a couple weeks ago, but that didn't go over well," Pooriin admitted.

"What happened?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"She invited me to a sushi bar, just for the fun of it, since we're friends and all that, but at the scheduled time, Kiba came instead; apparently they had made a bet on something, and the loser had to buy the winner a sushi meal-"

"And she lost the bet," Hinata finished, with a slight nod.

What happened...

"Oy, _Pooriin_?" Kiba exclaimed, when his friend turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Kiba?" Pooriin gaped.

"Arf arf?" Akamaru barked, suspecting a trick.

"What're you doing here?" Kiba asked, confused.

"I'm waiting for Hana-chan," Pooriin answered, still stunned.

"No, I'm waiting for onee-chan," Kiba insisted.

Kiba looked at Pooriin.

Pooriin looked at Kiba.

Akamaru scratched his ear.

Hana and her three dogs walked in at that crucial moment.

"What do you think you're doing?!" both 12-year-olds asked at the same time.

"...Buying you guys lunch?" Hana suggested, choosing not to notice the murderous aura that was coming off of her two friends, "Oy, Ossan! Five orders of your special, please!"

"You can't be doing this!" Kiba hissed into her right ear, when the chuunin sat down.

"No, I've got enough money," Hana shrugged, while Kiba and Pooriin both sat beside her, "And the two extra orders are for the dogs."

Thank you, Akamaru said, but only Hana's three dogs heard.

"I didn't mean like that..." Kiba grumbled, but his sister ignored him.

"Didn't you hear about me and Shino?" Pooriin also whispered, into Hana's right ear.

"Yeah, but listen, both of you," Hana said calmly, folding her hands on the table in front of her and closing her eyes in a patient way, "_If_, and only _if_, the Aburame clan chooses Rini-chan, that marriage thing doesn't happen for five years. A lot can happen in five years. Things can change."

"With the _Aburame _clan?" Kiba exclaimed, still managing to keep his voice down, "What are you talking about?!"

"Have you ever known any Aburame to change his or her mind?" Pooriin asked, incredulous.

"Have you ever seen Shino even change his sunglasses?" Kiba added, "He's had the style of his current pair for all his life! ...Or...at least since he was six."

"Actually, he changed his sunglasses just today," Hana informed him, "I saw him this morning; they're actually very stylish. Kind of like goggles."

"Are you serious?" Kiba raised an eyebrow, and started to get up and look for his best friend before sitting down hard again, "No, don't change the subject!"

"Shino said something about wanting to hide," Hana continued, ignoring her brother, "Whatever he means by that...I hope he doesn't get as dark and depressed as Sasuke was. I mean, at least it's something recent that happened to Shino, instead of something from his past like what Sasuke was doing, but Shino still has to get over it eventually. Otherwise he'll leave the village, or something. And then where would we be? Happy and bug-free, that's what!" she said adamantly, hitting the table with her fist for emphasis.

"Onee-chan..." Kiba growled warningly.

"Hana-sempai, you have to understand," Pooriin begged, "Kiba and I can't see each other any more!"

"'Can't' or 'won't'?" Hana asked, finally getting serious and down to business, "I thought you had emotional training for seven months, Rini-chan. Shibi-san would be disappointed if he saw you now. Don't you see? He's given you guys a chance! Arranged marriages usually happen right away, no matter how young the people are, so that the two clans can have their alliance, but Shibi-san managed to put it off. And Kiba, you keep saying you want to train your feelings. Well, now would be a really good time."

"But this is different!" Kiba argued, too loudly now, "My girlfriend is engaged to my best friend!"

All three at the table heard the whole bar go quiet, and looking up, they saw the waiter with their orders giving them funny looks. There was a pause of complete silence, except for the noises that their trays made when placed on the table, but after the waiter left and a few seconds passed, the noise in the sushi bar picked up from where it had left off.

"Ok, that was too awkward," Pooriin moaned, putting her head on the table; without thinking, Kiba put an arm around her.

"You know what else is awkward?" Hana asked, placing two of the sushi orders onto the ground for the dogs, and speaking to nobody in particular, "Kiba moping around the house all day after training, and Rini-chan trying to avoid Kiba whenever they pass on the street, while the Chatora twins are making Pooriin work harder so that she'll focus on something other than the arrangment. Then there's Shino trying to look like he doesn't care, even though some of his bugs are continually buzzing around him as if there's an enemy nearby, and Michi-chan refusing to come home from Suna. And it's not just them; I see Korii constantly training because he has nothing better to do, which, by the way, is exhausting him and making his eyes ache before it's even properly in the afternoon, Hinata being worried for everyone's health and well-being, and who knows where the hell Deniizu is..._And,_ on top of all that, Kiba and Pooriin still act like they're dating. And it's been a whole month since we found out about the whole engagement thing."

Kiba and Pooriin stared at Hana, who had been staring off into space while talking. The attractive 17-year-old looked at the two twelve-year-olds dully, then popped a piece of tofu into her mouth.

"Yeah, that's awkward. But why listen to me?" Hana shrugged, speaking around her mouthful, "Nobody listens to their sister or mentor anymore, anyways. Who cares if she gives them a glimmer of hope?"

And back to today...

"Ano...but that whole interview didn't help much, huh?" Hinata asked wistfully.

"Not really," Pooriin agreed, "I haven't seen Kiba since then."

"He always goes straight home after missions," Hinata explained, "Shino's been more quiet than usual, too."

_If that's possible,_ Pooriin thought, _...And _that_ is the guy I get to marry. Maybe. Nothing is certain, not even depression! Though, that may be a good thing._

"How about Korii?" Pooriin asked, after a moment of thought.

"Well...Hanabi-chan and I were the only ones that he ever spoke to, before he became a ninja," Hinata said, "And Hanabi's in school all day, while I'm training. Sometimes Korii-kun and Inel-sensei go on small missions, but other than that, Hana-san's right; he practices Jyuuken and works with his Byakugan all day."

"Ugh, we're all wrecks..." Pooriin groaned, putting her hands on her hips with a disgusted look on her face.

"I know what you mean," Hinata nodded moodily, "I can't wait until we go back to the city."

* * *

Esperwen: Ok, since I haven't posted in about a week, I'm putting up another chapter tomorrow, instead of in three days like I'm supposed to do.

Ruroni: but theres only 3 chappies after this!!

Esperwen: Ah...that is true.

Kiba: But you've got the sixth Portal fic under way already, right?

Ruroni: this is also true and i wil tryto edit eveything b4 i allow espewren to post thsi time

Shino: You do the editing?! Just look at your spelling right there!

Ruroni: o, im plot.

Esperwen: Eh...I'm off to Moglin punt; they say something cool happens if you get all the cookies.

Kiba: ...What's she talking about, now?

Ruroni : i dun care reader reveiw!


	15. Michiko's Child

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, random four-year-olds, more adoption, pregnancy scares (ahaha!) etc.

Esperwen: Ok, I MEANT to post two days ago...

Itachi: Silence. On with the story. And today you're posting two chapters or your brother dies.

Esperwen: You cruel, cruel shinobi...

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Michiko's Child**

Michiko woke up early, with a happy yawn, the morning of the day that she had planned for months to return to see her beloved Shino. And all the rest of Konoha, of course; after all, Shino wasn't really hers anymore... With a wistful smile, she looked out her window dreamily, then quickly got up and hurried to the washroom to get ready; her days over the past two weeks had been very busy, lately.

"Mimi-okaa!" a little boy gurgled happily, when Michiko emerged from the washroom, clean and dressed.

A four-year-old boy was Michiko's new roommate. With emerald green eyes, fair skin, and short, black, and dead-straight hair, the boy was an adorable child; especially when he was smiling and had his arms stretched out like the way they were now. The tiny packed backpack he had on only added to his cuteness.

"Saneijin!" Michiko cooed, throwing her sleeping clothes onto her bed, quickly slinging her bookbag onto her shoulder and picking the small boy in one smooth movement, "Ohayo, Sanei-kun! You weren't awake when I got up..."

"I woked up right after," Saneijin explained proudly, hugging Michiko's neck while she pulled her violin case onto her back (rather awkwardly), grabbed her ninja tools pouch and carried him out of their apartment.

"Oh, I see! You're waking up earlier and earlier, now!" Michiko exclaimed, not putting him down until they had reached the bottom flight of stairs in their apartment building.

"I know! Where we goin', Mimi-okaa?" Saneijin made a face when he realized they were walking toward the Kazekage's building, "Are we visitin' Kanaroo?"

"No, we're not visiting Kankurou," Michiko assured him, reaching down and taking his hand while they walked through the streets, "We're going back to my home in Konoha!"

"But I think _this_ is your home," Saneijin protested, waving his hand to display the great buildings that made the Hidden Village of the Sand.

Michiko looked down at Saneijin for a moment, then turned her gaze thoughtfully at the village that had been her home for almost half a year. The little boy was right; she _had_ come to think of Suna as a place that she belonged in. But...only in the past few weeks when she and Gaara started star-gazing together. Before then...

"It is, Sanei-kun," Michiko agreed, squeezing his hand gently, and adjusting her violin with her other hand, "But I have two homes, and one of them is in the Hidden Leaf."

"Will there be a big brother like Gaara-nii?" Saneijin asked hopefully.

Michiko couldn't help but laugh a little; Saneijin had very unusual titles for all of his caretakers.

After the raiding incident that Michiko and Gaara had handled two months before, Saneijin had been that last surviving, orphaned child. Normally, an orphan is the entire village's concern, but after seeing Michiko's attachment to the four-year-old, Kazuma had convinced Suna's council to allow Michiko to be main caretaker. Childcare was part of the medical program Michiko was in, and Saneijin would be 'practice', with Kazuma as supervisor.

Because of this, Michiko, to Saneijin, had become his mother, so he called her 'Mimi-okaa', while Kazuma was 'Kazuma-sensei', since that was what Michiko called him. Gaara was his 'onii-chan', and Temari (or Temri) was his 'onee-chan', while Kankurou was simply 'Kanaroo'. Since Kankurou still did not like kids, he often teased Saneijin, while Saneijin did his best to sabotage Kankurou's puppets as payback.

"Well, there's Kiba," Michiko said, answering Saneijin's question, "As well as Shino, I guess...they might be your brothers. And Hinata, Pooriin and Hana can be your big sisters."

_I'm not sure how Korii and Deniizu will react to a kid,_ Michiko thought to herself, _And I don't even wanna think about Itachi. Eh...I hope things go well._

Note: We do not advise the permanent care of little children when you are only 13 years old. Michiko's got a whole village helping her out, and this is a fanfic. Taking constant care of a kid before you're 18 is just insane. Sometimes even after you're 18.

That same moment, Deniizu, standing at the top of a tree, overlooked the sunlit horizon with Itachi's arm around her shoulders. Kisame was below, at their camp, still eating breakfast. Deniizu could just barely see the cliff sculpted with each of the Hokage's faces in the distance; Itachi could only see a blur now, his eyes were failing so much.

"How many more days is it until we arrive?" Deniizu asked, leaning slightly against Itachi.

"Three," Itachi answered, "When we get there, it will be exactly one year since you and Michiko came to the village for the first time."

"...A whole year..."

Looking down, Itachi saw a pensive expression on his love's face, but when Deniizu looked up, she smiled carelessly and kissed his lips quickly.

"I miss them," Deniizu said quietly, and Itachi held her close, "I can't wait to see them again."

_...but Sasuke doesn't miss his friends,_ Itachi thought, a slight pang of regret running through him, _I taught him that hate and anger were sources of strength, but he didn't realize that if it consumed him, there would be no point in that strength...tsk. Now there is no future for him._

"...Do you miss Korii?" Itachi asked emotionlessly, not wanting to ask, but still wanting to know the answer.

At first, Deniizu didn't answer; she stayed staring at the far-off cliff where the Hokage's faces were carved. If she squinted, she could almost see the artists who were etching Tsunade's face into the cliff wall.

"...I chose _you_, remember?" Deniizu countered, also emotionlessly.

Itachi bent his head down and breathed the scent of Deniizu's hair a moment before speaking.

"When you offer Pooriin Pocky, she chooses strawberry over chocolate-flavoured coating," Itachi said cryptically, "She doesn't hate chocolate; she simply thinks that strawberry is better."

Deniizu grimaced, then sighed; she knew what Itachi was getting at.

"You're right; I don't hate Korii."

"...Sometimes Pooriin chooses strawberry because the chocolate belongs to someone else."

"Are you saying that Korii's got a girlfriend?"

"No, I'm saying maybe you knew that Korii did not want to stay with us any longer."

"...Ok, I'll admit I knew that too."

"Sometimes the strawberry Pocky is easier to reach."

"...not to sound cheesy, but you were the harder one to win. Korii was more open than you."

"And lately, strawberry has been the only accessible-"

"Itachi..."

The mentioned nukenin looked down at Deniizu questioningly, a slight smile on his lips; he had been teasing, partly.

"Yes?"

"I'll admit it. I wish things with Korii and me had been different, that day he left. I wish we'd left on better terms. But...even if he stopped liking me that way, we were still friends before. I just want us to be good teammates again."

Itachi thought that over for a moment, then accepted it. He wouldn't mention Korii as a conversation topic between them. ...For now. Itachi wasn't naive; he knew that issues concerning that Hyuuga were not over yet.

Ooo...Drama.

At that moment, both Michiko and Saneijin arrived at the Kazekage's building, where the Sand Siblings still lived. Temari was waiting for her at the front; Kankurou and Gaara were nowhere to be seen.

"Temri!" Saneijin cheered, hugging one of Temari's legs happily.

"Ohayo, Temari-san. Where's Kankurou?" Michiko asked, looking around warily, in case the older boy was planning to throw something at her when she didn't expect it; he had done it before.

"Where are your four dogs?" Temari asked at the same time, then answered, "He's staying here in Suna, and didn't want to come out to see you off; something about glue in his puppet Kuroari's joints."

Michiko, who was kneeling and hanging a whistle around Saneijin's neck, couldn't help but notice that the boy was trying not to giggle. Temari saw Saneijin's face, too.

"Sanei-kun, did..." Temari started to ask, then shook her head, "You know what? I don't want to know."

"What's it for?" Saneijin asked, examining the brass whistle closely with his bright green eyes.

"It calls the dogs," Michiko answered, "During our trip, if you get lost or separated from us, I want you to blow into that whistle three times so that the Four Musketeers can find you, but only for emergencies."

"Ok..." Saneijin nodded, slightly put out because of Michiko's firm tone of voice.

"But you can use it to call them now," Michiko smiled, putting a hand on the boy's dark head, then stood to meet her fellow genin eye-to-eye, "We're leaving as soon as we're all gathered, right?"

"Did you eat?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow, while Saneijin blew three short blasts with the whistle.

"I'll eat on the way," Michiko shrugged, standing up.

Hearing rapidly approaching barks, Michiko snatched Saneijin up quickly, just before Porthos came from around a corner and tried to tackle the small boy. Growling playfully, the stocky dog lay down on his stomach in front of Michiko impatiently. After rolling her eyes, Michiko placed Saneijin carefully on Porthos' back, and the sturdy dog easily got up and carried Saneijin towards where his three brothers were quickly approaching.

"My dog team was already on their way," Michiko explained to Temari, just as Gaara approached, "Porthos has a soft spot for Saneijin, so he must have been ahead of the others; I instructed them yesterday to come here this morning, and the whistle probably only made them come faster. Good morning, Gaara-san."

"...I thought Athos would be the one with the soft spot?" Temari asked, while Gaara nodded his acknowledgement, "He's the gentlest one."

"Well...Athos is different like that," Michiko said, "He likes kids, and he'll instinctively rescue one in danger, but he needs orders to properly take care of one or act as bodyguard. And Porthos is Saneijin's best friend; not just his caregiver."

D'Artagnan, Athos and Aramis sniffed Temari and Gaara respectfully, right after receiving a pat from Michiko, then D'Artagnan went to join Porthos and Saneijin up ahead. Aramis got placed onto Michiko's head (he was the only one small enough, now), and Michiko strapped her bookbag onto Athos' back.

"I guess we're off, then," Michiko smiled, turning back to Temari and bowing.

"Have a safe trip," Temari grinned back, bowing, then allowing Michiko to hug her.

"We'll be back in a month," Gaara said, speaking for the first time, and he began to lead the way.

_...I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to miss Gaara,_ Temari thought, as she waved, _What Uzumaki Naruto started, Inuzuka Michiko is continuing; Gaara's changing._

"Where's that little creep!?" Kankurou roared, finally running out of the Kazekage's building, "I'll kill that kid!"

"Too late, they're gone," Temari said airily, turning to go inside, "Give it a rest, Kankurou; he's just 4 years old."

Heehee...Kankurou, you're cool. We just like making fun of you.

Pooriin and Hinata were the first at Konoha's main gates, the afternoon of the day that Michiko had said she would be back. Both posted themselves just outside the village; the sentries there didn't want to leave the gate wide open, so the giant doors were only slightly ajar.

"Is Kiba coming?" Pooriin asked excitedly, when she and Hinata met each other, then quickly sobered up, "Um...not that I _care_ or anything...Korii too..."

"It's all right!" Hinata giggled, "I know what you mean. But yes, your boyfriend is coming. And so is my cousin, as soon as he greets Deniizu from another side of the village. What about Shino?"

Lately, Pooriin had been urged by her parents to visit Shino at home. She had to get to know him and his family, after all, so she met with him every day, between his missions or her training. But, she and Kiba had agreed to be minor rebels, so they were still an item and would fight for that right.

"Of course he's coming," Pooriin grumbled, "He never shows any sign of life, now, unless Michiko is mentioned."

_...Maybe Shino _is_ going emo,_ Hinata thought, worriedly, _Or maybe it's that omen thing he was talking about with the kikaichu._

Just then, the two girls heard barks from the other side of the gate, and both turned just in time to see Kiba and Akamaru come through the gate to stand beside them. Akamaru was as tall as Kiba's mid-thigh now; he was getting bigger, Pooriin noticed.

"Hey, guys," the boy grinned, embracing both girls, "How are you, Hinata, Rini-chan?"

"We're all right," Hinata answered, unable to help but notice he was holding hands with Pooriin, or how Pooriin had looked down shyly when hearing her nickname, "Where are Tsume-san and Hana-sempai?"

"They had a mission, so they couldn't make it," Kiba grimaced, "They were really pissed with Tsunade-sama, believe me."

"That's ok," Pooriin grinned; she missed being able to meet the Inuzuka every day, but now she had to work hard with her studies and with Shino, "Michiko will be living with you guys for a month before she leaves again, anyway."

All three of them stood in a line, facing the road that led to the gate. It was the day that all the portal-users would be together completely, since half a year before; all hoped that nothing would detain their travelling friends.

"Do you two remember when Michiko said she'd arrive?" Kiba asked, bravely doing his best to maintain his calm, normal demeanor, refusing to let his emotional stress of seeing Pooriin and expecting Michiko take over the situation; if he weren't holding onto Pooriin's hand so tightly, the girls might have been fooled.

"I believe her last letter said 'some time in the afternoon'," a familiar low voice said from behind them, and all three turned to see Shino join them, "Good afternoon, all of you."

"...she still writes to you?" Kiba asked; over the past few weeks, both boys avoided the topic of relationships during their conversations.

"If you mean the terse, less than half-a-page, impersonal note that she sent me last week, then yes," Shino nodded.

"Yeah, I only got a note last week, too," Kiba sighed.

_She still writes long letters to me,_ both girls thought, sharing covert glances.

_They don't know what she thinks about the whole engagement either, then, _Hinata thought; neither she nor Pooriin had received any information from that area in their letters.

"You don't know about her kid then, huh?" Pooriin asked, keeping her eyes on the road but watching the boys slyly by the corner of her eyes.

Kiba's jaw dropped open, Akamaru sat down with a thump, and Shino flinched before freezing where he was. What did she mean by 'her kid'? Hinata covered her face in her hands, and Pooriin chuckled to herself mischieviously; she loved teasing her friends. There was a stunned silence for a moment, before either boy could speak.

"A..." Kiba's voice cracked, and he tried again, "A...kid...?"

Shino opened his mouth to speak, but realized that he wasn't sure what to ask first, and closed it again, choosing his words carefully.

"She's got...a kid?" Kiba asked slowly, not even sure what he was saying anymore.

"Yeah," Pooriin nodded, "A little boy."

_Is that even possible?_ Shino thought, _We've only been four months apart, and, not that I think she actually had a child, but if she did, she would have been showing when she visited four months ago. It's not possible!_

Hinata, having gotten over her initial embarrassment with how Pooriin was wording things, decided to help Pooriin tease the boys.

"Ano...it's all right. There were some complications for a little while; the boy needed medical attention for a couple weeks," Hinata said slowly.

"Yeah, she had the kid earlier than we expected," Pooriin added sincerely.

"But mother and child are both healthy, so everything's all right," Hinata finished cheerfully.

"Mother...!" Kiba choked, then pointed accusingly at Shino, "Y...you!"

Two nerves popped on Kiba's forehead, but Shino didn't notice yet; Shino wasn't even looking at Kiba.

_...'earlier than expected'? As in...prematurely?!_ Shino felt sweatdrops appearing everywhere on his head, _Pregnancy starts showing around, what, the third or fourth month? So, Michiko could have been in her seventh or eighth month, meaning...!_

Abruptly, Shino noticed Kiba was pointing at him.

"...It wasn't me," Shino deadpanned, still thinking, _Let's be logical. Michiko doesn't sleep around. ...I understand Pooriin, but would Hinata lie?!_

"Y..._you!_" Kiba was still pointing.

_Oh, please..._ "..._No,_" Shino protested firmly.

"This...this was _your_ doing, wasn't it?" Kiba accused, his initial shock now overcome by anger.

"I did nothing," Shino insisted, annoyance starting to simmer.

"For the love of Kamisama, you're only thirteen!" Kiba cried, putting a hand on his head.

"I didn't do anything!" Shino exclaimed, he and Kiba facing each other squarely now, no longer looking at the road.

"What's going on?"

All four friends saw Raiko Firu somehow manage to materialise right beside them.

"WHOA!" Kiba yelled, cringing at Firu's sudden appearance, then snapped into the older boy's face, "Don't _do_ that!"

"Tense, isn't he?" Firu observed, raising an eyebrow and a chuckling Pooriin and blushing Hinata, "Now, care to tell me what's going on?"

"I...Michiko...he...HE!" Kiba pointed again at Shino, "This guy slept with my sister, and now she's got a kid!"

"_Hana?_" Firu gasped, stepping backwards, "Shino, she's like five years older than you! Good job!" he added, with a thumbs up.

"...What?" Pooriin blinked, "...Ew!"

"Oh my..." Hinata covered her face again.

"No, not Hana!" Kiba exclaimed, stomping a foot, "And...aw, Firu, that's just _wrong_!"

"Then..." Firu thought for a moment, then his face changed completely, "_MICHIKO?" _Firu yelled, grabbing Shino by the front of his jacket in an extremely unfriendly way.

"I didn't-" Shino started, but he was interrupted.

"...What about me?" a voice called from down the road.

All five at the gate saw Michiko waving from a distance, walking towards them with her four dogs, Gaara...and the kid. Immediately, all former disagreements were temporarily forgotten; their friend was back for the first time in four months.

"Michii!" Pooriin exclaimed, running to greet her friend.

Hinata and Kiba hurried to follow, as did Shino, but Firu pulled and threw the latter backwards so that Shino would be the last to reach Michiko. The bug-user discarded his annoyance for the time being and calmly brushed himself off and ran to catch up; he could be angry at the other two boys any time, but Mii-chan was only going to come home like this once.

Gaara stopped where he was and calmly watched as Michiko took a few steps towards her friends, before she froze. With a few hand signals, the three dogs on the ground and Saneijin returned to stand by Gaara, and in good time.

Uh oh, Aramis thought, seeing what was coming and jumped down from Michiko's head before the collision took place.

"Pooriin, slow down!" Michiko warned shrilly, but she was too late.

"_Michii_!" Pooriin exclaimed, her arms outstretched.

Pooriin, largely due to her happiness in seeing her friend, ended her run, which had become much faster due to her constant training, with a bound, and caught her friend in a hug. Normally, this gesture would have been cute, but because of her extra momentum from the run, Pooriin knocked Michiko down completely and unceremoniously onto the ground, rolling her backwards a couple times.

"Um...hey, Pooriin," Michiko said, wincing slightly, "Nice to see you...ow..."

"I missed you!" Pooriin exclaimed, hugging tighter, just as Hinata and Kiba caught up.

"Hi, Hina-chan," Michiko waved feebly, her arm pinned to the ground under Pooriin, who was still hugging her, "'Sup, Kiba?" she added, before mouthing the words, 'Help me!'

"Nice to see you again," Hinata smiled, gently helping Pooriin off of Michiko.

"Yo," Kiba greeted with a laugh, pulling his sister up by the hand and embracing her, just as Firu arrived, "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back! And Firu!" Michiko exclaimed, jumping around Firu in a circle, "You're here! You're here! I didn't think I'd see you today!"

"...This reminds me of that time when we first met," Firu said thoughtfully, with an odd sense of déjà vu, before saying, "So, I hear you got pregnant."

That stopped Michiko's greeting, completely freezing her where she was. Pooriin wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Michiko's lips pale a little.

"And by Shino," Kiba had to add, making a sweatdrop appear on Michiko's forehead.

At first, Michiko could only stare, but by the time Shino caught up to the group, she could speak again.

"I leave you guys for four months and this is what happens..." Michiko shook her head, then, seeing the amused and slightly embarrassed looks on Hinata and Pooriin's faces, "What have you two been saying about me?"

"All I said was that you had a kid," Pooriin said defensively, "And things were kind of early."

"And...ano...I said that 'mother' and child were healthy," Hinata added, and while Michiko's eye twitched, "And there were some complications."

Once again, Firu and Kiba looked at Shino accusingly.

"It wasn't me," Shino repeated, with an annoyed tone.

"I didn't get pregnant!" Michiko laughed, finally, "I'm the main caregiver for Saneijin over there," she added, pointing to the boy on Porthos' back, "And he calls me 'mother' as a nickname. That's all!"

"So you _lied_ to us?" Firu exclaimed, looking at Hinata and Pooriin, "How could you lie?!"

"What I meant by complications," Hinata explained, "Was that during the raid that had killed his family, Saneijin had been hurt and left for dead, but Suna's medics managed to get to him before it was too late."

"What did you mean by early, then?" Shino asked, his voice rumbling forebodingly.

"By early, we all expected her to have to take care of a child, full-time, when she was older, as in married and such. Duh," Pooriin smiled smugly, "What were _you_ thinking?"

"So...you _didn't_ sleep with Shino?" Kiba asked, still needing clarification.

"_No,_" Michiko laughed again.

"Oh."

Gaara, who had been approaching, cleared his throat, and Michiko quickly made introductions. Then, she called her dogs and Saneijin over, and the small boy was introduced to his newest 'big brothers' and 'big sisters'. All of them walked into Konoha, and Gaara and Shino walked ahead, to tell Tsunade that yet another ninja had returned, and that a representative from Suna was visiting.

"Konnichiwa!" Saneijin waved, with a bright smile, and Pooriin immediately smothered him in a hug.

"Aww! You're so cute!" she cooed, making the boy smile wider.

"Sankyu!" Saneijin chuckled, "What can I name you?"

"'Rini-chan' would be nice," Pooriin answered.

"Hai, Rini-chan!" Saneijin nodded solemnly.

Pooriin stared at the boy she carried for a second, then squealed with laughter and hugged him again.

"So cute!" she exclaimed, yet again "Michiko, where'd you get him?"

"It's not like I picked him up at a store," Michiko scolded, rolling her eyes.

"He is cute," Kiba grinned, then hit fists with the small boy while they walked down the street, "Ne, kid, you can just call me Kiba, if you want."

"Eto...I like 'onii-chan'," Saneijin suggested shyly.

"Your choice," Kiba shrugged, then grinned again, "So long as you let me teach you how to wrestle."

"Ok!" Saneijin cheered.

"Wrestling?" Michiko asked nervously, "Not yet; he isn't big enough! Give him a few years!"

"Mimi-okaa..." Saneijin whined, pouting his lip a little.

"No, Sanei-kun," Michiko shook her head firmly, "When you're as tall as my hip, _then_ you can start learning."

"Oh, come on!" Firu rolled his eyes, "Give the kid a chance!"

"Yeah, yeah, Firu-kun!" Saneijin agreed, nodding emphatically.

"I will, when he _has_ a chance," Michiko retorted, hands on her hips.

"It's ok, kid," Kiba whispered to Saneijin, so Michiko couldn't hear, "We'll figure something out."

"Mimi-okaa can be stingy," Saneijin said sagely, crossing his arms, "But...most of the time she's very nice."

"You deserve it," Michiko grinned, hearing that last part, and she tousled the boy's dark hair cheerfully.

Saneijin looked at the group, then held his arms out towards Hinata when he saw her.

"Carry?" he asked, and Hinata had to smile while she took him, "Look, Mimi-okaa! She's pretty, like a princess!"

Hinata blushed upon hearing this, while Firu and Kiba laughed loudly. Michiko simply smiled, but Pooriin couldn't help but feel indignant.

"Hey, what about me?" Pooriin asked, mildly upset, "Aren't I pretty?"

"Ano...yeah..." Saneijin hesitated, "But...not like okaa-san or Hinata-hime."

Pooriin crossed her arms and pouted, but Kiba quickly put his arm around her shoulders to appease her.

"Hey, _I_ think you're pretty," Kiba said, smiling at his girlfriend.

"It would sound better if Saneijin said it," Pooriin said morosely, then grinned at Kiba to show he was kidding.

"...You know what?" Firu said, once they entered Konoha's main gates, "Saneijin looks a lot like Gaara, but with different hair."

"..._no!_" Michiko and Pooriin exclaimed, both kicking the oldest boy in the shins.

* * *

Esperwen: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

Ruroni: ther prank wasnt that funny...

Esperwen: Hahahahaha!

Ruroni: coudl u stop that now??

Esperwen: Hahaha...sorry, just the look on their faces...HAHAHAHAHA!

Ruroni: jeez...reader, reveiw and al that...


	16. First Ever Portal User Reunion

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, and...oo, DragonFable...

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: First Ever Portal-user Reunion**

That evening, after putting her things back into her room at the Inuzuka household, Michiko went on a walk with Gaara, Saneijin and her four dogs. Hinata had sent word to Michiko that Deniizu had arrived, and was now staying temporarily at the Hyuuga complex since she no longer had an apartment to live in, so the Hyuuga complex was where they were headed.

Gaara had heard of Deniizu and Korii from Michiko before; he was uninterested in meeting more people, but he had nothing better to do, and Michiko would appreciate it, so he was going anyway. Saneijin was curious to see what they were like; were they like Kankurou, or like Temari? Did they make fun of little kids, or did they accept them?

Hinata met them at the gate, and the small group found Deniizu and Korii training in the Hyuuga's private dojo. Seeing them spar with each other, Michiko couldn't help but smile; it was almost like old times. But as she watched them, she saw both had more moves, and they had higher speed. In the past six months, they had improved considerably. Deniizu was even controlling two practice daggers with her bloodline limit, and was using them to attack Korii from either side.

_If Korii didn't have his Byakugan, and if those daggers were sharp, he'd be long gone,_ Michiko realised, _Wow...they could already be chuunin!_

Korii had also been doing better with his Jyuuken techniques; Michiko could see large amounts of blue chakra flowing from his open hands whenever he moved forward with an attack. He knew how to push more chakra forward now, and could see more places to hit with better results.

Gaara looked at the two sparring genins with approval, though his face was still the usual mask of serenity. Korii had also learned a little of the Heavenly Spin; whenever he wanted a moment to breathe or strategize, he sent chakra out from every pore and spun around once, so that Deniizu's weapons were deflected. It wasn't perfect, and it could be stronger and more effective (Hiashi, Hinata's father, had been known to send back several men flying with his Kaiten), but it was better than what some Hyuuga could do after years of practice.

Michiko was also worried about whether their spar would get serious or personal. Korii's letter had not solely been for the Aburame-Chatora engagement. He also had told Michiko about how he and Deniizu had parted ways. However, now that she saw them fighting, Michiko could tell that they were at least all right with each other; their movements were still precise, and not meant to severely hurt the opponent.

After a few minutes of watching the two ninja, Michiko felt someone tugging on her skirt, and Gaara felt a pull at his robe. Both they and Hinata looked down, and saw Saneijin gazing up at them, an awed look in his eyes.

"I never seen you do _that_," Saneijin whispered, when Michiko knelt down and asked what he wanted, "Are they stronger'n you?"

"Yeah," Michiko nodded solemnly, "A whole lot."

The green-eyed toddler looked at the sparring ninja again, then whispered, "What about you, Gaara-nii?"

"No," Gaara answered bluntly.

_Well, that was short and simple,_ Michiko thought, rolling her eyes and standing up again.

_Gaara-sama hasn't changed much since the chuunin exam,_ Hinata thought, then Michiko caught her eye.

Instead of saying anything, Michiko merely made a few hand signs to her four dogs. All of them moved to stand by Gaara, and before Hinata could ask, Michiko winked at her, then launched herself straight at the genin fighting nearby.

"That's not safe!" Hinata blurted, realizing what Michiko was going to do.

Hinata hurried forward to stop her friend, but a barrier of sand blocked her way. Turning, she saw Gaara shaking his head at her; he knew that Michiko wanted to do things alone, and she was smart enough not to take things further than what she could handle, unless absolutely necessary.

As soon as she reached them, Michiko deftly poked Korii, then Deniizu right in the stomach. Caught completely off-guard, both of then grunted then tried to swat out at her, only to have her dance out of harm's way; they hadn't seen her move at all. Laughing at the disgruntled expressions they gave to her, while they stopped fighting completely, Michiko grabbed both of them into a warm embrace.

"I missed you guys!" Michiko laughed, releasing Korii to hug Deniizu harder, then switching to embrace Korii, "It's been so long!"

"...yeah," Korii said, smiling lopsidedly; if it were anyone but Michiko or Deniizu hugging him, they would probably be dead. Well, Pooriin was still alive. But that was all.

"I missed you too," Deniizu grinned, grabbing Michiko once Korii was released.

"Oh my gosh..." Michiko couldn't stop laughing, "It's been so boring without a team to go on missions with...we _can_ go on missions now, right?" she asked seriously, looking at Deniizu sternly, "You'll actually stay with us for a while, Deniizu?"

"...Just for a month," Deniizu nodded slowly, "That's when you're leaving, anyway, and the Akatsuki is still after me. I'm not that big of a priority, and they may not even have found my name in the family records yet, but I still have to move around."

"Well, it's a start," Michiko grinned, then remembered the people who came with her, "Um, that's Gaara of the Hidden Sand; you saw him fight during the chuunin exam; and that boy there is named Saneijin. He was orphaned, so I'm taking care of him."

"Typical," Korii rolled his eyes, and all the team grinned when Michiko shot him an annoyed look, "What? It's just like you to pick up strays. Only...not in the Orochimaru/pedophile-type way."

However, her smile completely dissolved a second later, replacing it with a wince, then a mask of calm, "Um...Hinata?"

"Hai?" Hinata raised her eyebrows when Michiko suddenly faced her.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go home now," Michiko said apologetically, "Tsume-okaa and Hana-chan are coming back from their mission soon, and they want to take me out to dinner."

"Mimi-okaa?" Saneijin said, hurrying over to her and whispering, though the rest of the group could hear, "Eto...aren'tcha happy to see them?"

"...Oh, I am," Michiko insisted, kneeling down to meet the boy at eye-level, "I really am. But we can't stay here for long."

"We'll see you again, kid," Korii explained simply, while Michiko passed something to Deniizu that made her realize exactly what was going on, then said under his breath, "If we have to..."

Hinata heard Korii muttering and gave him a sharp look which he responded to coolly.

"He still smells like baby, what can I say?" Korii shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm norra baby!" Saneijin snapped, kicking Korii in the shin.

"Saneijin!" Michiko exclaimed, grabbing Saneijin by the shoulders to hold him back and looking at Korii warily, watching for a reaction.

"...heh..." Korii smirked slightly, much to the others' surprise, "He's got spunk and I actually felt something. Is Kiba gonna teach him how to wrestle?"

"Michiko's trying to forbid that," Hinata smiled.

Getting up smoothly with Saneijin on her hip, Michiko headed towards the dojo's back entrance, and Gaara and the Four Musketeers followed her.

"Gomen, Hinata, everyone," Michiko said apologetically, "I'll come back tomorrow, after we do a few missions and some training."

"Oh...okay..." Hinata nodded, and she, Korii and Deniizu all watched as the strange group exited the dojo.

"...What was that?" Korii asked, looking at Deniizu sternly, "She wasn't just in a rush, was she?"

"What happened?" Gaara asked Michiko brusquely, while they took a back way out of the dojo towards the Inuzuka household.

"Didja get hurted?" Saneijin asked, concerned; he hadn't seen his guardian get hit when she poked her teammates, but then again, he hadn't seen her move towards them, either.

"Something came up..." Michiko said reluctantly, then after seeing Gaara's blank stare, she looked at the top of Saneijin's head purposefully, and the conversation was over until Saneijin could be put away.

"She handed these to me," Deniizu said, showing the small objects to Hinata and Korii, "...just to explain her foolishness. One must have landed on her when she decided she had to leave, and I know where the other two came from."

A cough was heard at the dojo front entrance, and all three looked up and saw Shino enter the large room.

"Sorry, but I heard Michiko had come here?" the bug-user asked, bowing formally.

"She isn't here anymore," Deniizu said for Hinata, marching sternly to Shino.

When Deniizu reached him, she handed over the three objects Michiko had passed her; there was the kikaichu that Shino obviously had made land on Michiko, and two purple origami butterflies. Shino's shoulders fell slightly when he saw the butterflies, though only Korii noticed.

"I'm assuming it's over between you two," Deniizu said, anger flashing in her eyes, "What did you do to hurt her, you creep?"

Whoa...angst.

Two weeks later, in the afternoon, after all mission had been completed a meeting gathered in Team 8's training field. Inuzuka Kiba and Michiko, as well as Akamaru, Porthos, Aramis, D'Artagnan, and Athos arrived first. Then, Aburame Shino and Chatora Pooriin came, with Satoki Inel following right behind. Deniizu, Hyuuga Korii and Hinata arrived together, and Raiko Firu came on his own, making himself the last to arrive.

"Yeesh," Pooriin sighed, counting all the people, "Including Itachi and Naruto, there are eleven portal-users, not counting the five dogs."

"So many..." Korii shook his head, "I'm surprised there isn't a set limit. We have to be screwing around with energy, or karma, or something."

"Hey, if the people in _XXX-holic _can do this, we can do it too," Kiba shrugged, a devil-may-care smile on his face.

"Yeah, well Syaoran-kun and Sakura-hime don't take over their parallel lives," Deniizu argued, "Or...at least I think they don't."

"And we don't have a Mokona..." Michiko added, holding her hands out and wishing that they _did_ have a cute little rice-ball-like friend to help them between worlds.

"There's 'Monoka' the rice-jutsu girl you told me about," Firu pointed out, reminding them of the green-haired girl that had once been a bandit.

"...she's cute, but she's not an annoying yet adorable little onigiri-creature," Michiko shook her head, "Kawaii, yo..."

"Why are we talking about this?" Kiba asked, suddenly.

"No clue," Pooriin answered promptly, then shared a grin with him.

Michiko smiled as the two friends linked arms with each other; they still had hope that things would change with the Chatora and Aburame unity. Michiko on the other hand...well, she had always been a loner, anyway. And if Shino seemed dark and brooding...nobody would notice any difference.

"Do you think that Itachi-san has found Naruto-kun by now?" Shino asked, always sticking to business.

As if in answer, a puff of smoke appeared, and both missing nin and hiding nin were in the clearing.

"Kuso!" Naruto yelled, waving his arms angrily, "You didn't have to sneak up on my like that, ahou!"

"...only because I don't care about what you think, I'll let you live, instead of killing you because you were rude," Itachi said calmly, and while Naruto stared at him, stunned, the Uchiha looked at Michiko, "Who 'dies' first?"

_Teme...he says it so calmly..._Naruto felt nerves popping on his forehead, though from Itachi's attitude or how he brushed Naruto off so easily, Naruto wasn't sure, _He's almost as annoying as Sasuke..._

Michiko looked around the field, saw that nobody was especially willing to jump off a tree, then pulled out a dagger from her belt; Deniizu realized that it was the ornate one that Sasuke had given her as a welcome gift to the village, those many months ago.

"I'll go," Michiko said, holding the dagger's hilt with both hands in front of her, a determined look on her face.

"...THAT'S CREEPY!" Kiba exclaimed, at the same time Naruto yelled, "YOU SUICIDAL FREAK!"

"And it's really, really emo," Firu added, "...Maybe Korii should do it."

"I'm not emo, you freak," Korii growled, punching Firu's arm.

"Do you have to do it like that?" Pooriin asked, terrified, "I don't want to have to watch that!"

"Suicide is the bad!" Inel reminded, emphasizing 'bad'.

Michiko glared at nobody in particular, then raised the dagger as far from her body as she could, saying, "If you don't like watching, close your eyes; Itachi can watch for you," and with that, she drove the dagger into her stomach...and disappeared.

"...I FORGOT TO CLOSE MY EYES!" Kiba yelled after a moment of stunned silence.

"ME TOO!" Naruto agreed, with equal volume.

"My head..." Deniizu covered her ears, thinking, _You're so loud...still! Your training hasn't changed you at all!_

"Stupid people," Korii muttered and Itachi thought, both of them already entering the portal tree.

_...I can't believe these people,_ Shino thought, stepping into the tree, _We're all supposed to be mature ninja..._

* * *

Esperwen: Are you happy, now?

Itachi: Only until three days from now. Until we meet again. (poof)

Esperwen's Little Brother, who shall be referred to now as ELB: (poofs in) Whoa!

Esperwen: Ah! You're safe!

ELB: Wow, sis, I had this dream that I was up on a cross, and some evil ninja was stabbing me with a katana multiple times! Good thing it was just a dream...(leaves)

Esperwen: Eh-heh...right...just a dream...(shudders) I'm creeped out. Hey, readers! Do your best to review!


	17. Together, Back in the City

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters, places or themes affiliated, hot chocolate, nor Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is the most awesome Gamecube game known to mankind.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Back in the City**

Back home, that Monday evening, Denise leaned against her balcony rail at her apartment, looking towards Isaac's building. Isaac and the other Konoha ex-ninja had sunk into their pool that they had discovered so long ago and stepped out into where they had 'killed' themselves in the normal world, while the original highschoolers and teacher had found themselves in their greenhouse again. And it was still winter in their world and just after Christmas; they had to remember who they were again. Phil Jones, Michelle Salanga, Corey Smith, Nathan Makizu, Shaun Anderson, Hinata White, and Kyle Douglas were still in Grade 11, Denise Tomas was in Grade 9, Isaac was in his fifth year of high school, Pauline Mariano was in Grade 10 and homeschooled, and Ionel Stoica was a middle-aged music teacher.

"...Want some?"

Hinata walked onto the balcony and passed Denise a mug of hot chocolate before leaning on the rail beside her. Though it was still around 8 o'clock, the sun was already down; moonlight bathed the snow-covered world in an eerie glow.

"Thanks."

Denise sipped the drink carefully, doing her best not to get burnt.

"...It seems so weird, being back, huh?" the green-eyed girl asked, with a small smile.

"Very," Hinata smiled back, "It's colder here, we're all older...it will be strange going back to school tomorrow."

"Definitely," Denise agreed, "But...it'll be a good break."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"I mean...other ninja don't get a chance to relax from combat," Denise explained, "But we do. We get to sit back and enjoy just studying all night."

"Not you," Hinata laughed, "I saw your report card a couple..._weeks_ ago in this world. You didn't do any homework in any of your classes."

"Yeah," Denise grinned, "But you know what I mean."

"I know," Hinata nodded, "...It's so much less pressure. I kind of feel bad for the people back home."

And a few streets away...

Around that time Michelle sat on one of the concrete blocks that surrounded her backyard's garden, regardless of the cold. Looking up at the sky, she realized she could barely see the stars for all the light pollution the city made. Still, she felt so much less turmoil and fear here; there was very little concern about war, not anymore.

_We're going to get so soft and out of practice when we go back to Konoha next Monday,_ Michiko thought, _...Oi...I miss Athos already. But at least he and all the other dogs are back to being puppies again, while staying with Kyle. It would be weird if they left for two weeks, looking like puppies, and then came back as adult dogs._

Hearing snow crunch behind her, Michelle turned and saw Shaun on the other side of the short, wire fence, and she stood up to face him more formally. He was so tall now, she realized; she was at a good height of 5' 6", but Shaun was about half a foot taller than her.

"Evening," Michelle smiled wanly, waving a little with a gloved hand.

"Evening," Shaun nodded, a grey muffler covering his mouth in place of his high collar.

"...School tomorrow," Michelle said, looking away and up at the sky, "You finished all your homework?"

"Naturally," Shaun nodded, and there was another silence.

_...Please, just go back inside,_ Michiko thought, _It's too weird to be around you anymore...And I'm sure Pauline would have a lot to say about Shino always being weird, but I'm going to leave those thoughts alone, for now._

"...Over five years," Shaun finally said.

"...Pardon?" Michelle looked back at Shaun's face; he'd pulled his scarf down.

"You will avoid me for more than five years," Shaun answered, putting his arms onto the fence so that he could lean forward against it, "After all, there's time to be spent in this world, too."

"...If that's what I have to do," Michelle nodded slowly, "Then yes."

"But you don't have to," Shaun argued quietly, "There's no arrangement in this world."

"But there's still the memory," Michiko said hoarsely, turning to go inside.

She began walking towards her house, and ignored the sounds she heard behind her; Shaun was climbing over the fence, she knew. But before she was halfway to the door, Shaun had reached her and grabbed Michelle's sleeve; she stopped.

"...Let go," she ordered softly, but after shaking her arm, he still held on, "Come on, Shaun. I want to go inside."

"I'm not letting go," Shaun said stubbornly, "I made my choice, and if yours contradicts mine, I'll make you change it."

Michelle winced, then opened her mouth to argue, but Shaun spoke right over her.

"I've decided that it would be best if we were still together; both of us will be happier for it," he said calmly, almost emotionlessly, with a tone that sounded a bit like his father's, "You may not be with me in Konoha, but you're dating me here whether you want to or not."

"...As much as I like a man in charge, you can't do that," Michelle said, half-smiling.

"I just did," Shaun said gently, quickly stepping around Michelle to stand close in front of her, their faces almost touching; Michelle started to argue, but his next sentence stopped her completely, "You're mine, Michelle," he whispered, taking his hands in hers, "And there's nothing you can do about it."

Abruptly, Shaun thought he had said the wrong thing; Michelle's lips went completely white, and her hands started shaking.

"...Nothing I can do?" Michelle chuckled quietly, bitterly, "And I thought I was the romanti-"

At that moment, she was interrupted by the sound of electronic music. Both Shaun and Michelle froze where they were, not quite sure how to react.

"Um...where's that sound coming from?" Michelle asked, straightening where she stood when the sound continued, "...Hey! I think I recognize that tune!"

"...That would be my ring tone," Shaun said, trying not to be disappointed while he reached into his pocket and retrieved a grey cell phone, "I'm sorry, but I have to take this call; I applied for a job and gave them this number."

"...Is that the song from that Pepsi commercial?" Michelle asked, while Shino flipped the phone open and checked the display to see who was calling, "You know, the one where they're randomly dancing on cars, and then he throws the girl up into the air, and for some reason she just kind of...disappears..."

"Kyle, why are you calling me at this hour?" Shaun asked, now speaking into the phone and not bothering to mask his annoyance.

"_Hey, Shaun?" _Kiba's voice rang cheerily through the small device, "_Whoa, I meant to call Nat. Your cell numbers are really similar, you know. Like two numbers different."_

"Well, I'm not Nat," Shaun said, rather redundantly, "And I thought you were living in the same apartment?"

"_He had to go visit his folks today,_" Kyle answered, not seeming to hear Shaun's irritated tone, "_There was some kind of emergency and he hasn't come back yet. But, since we haven't quite reached a minute, I'll talk to you instead so this call isn't wasted. Anyway, I finally got that third Fused Shadow! You know, in Twilight Princess?"_

"...You're ahead of me in the game, now?" Shaun asked, sounding shocked (for him), thinking, _I only just got out of the Mines..._

_"Oh yeah! You play that Zelda game too..."_ Kyle's smirk was almost audible, "_Yeah, I'm beating yo-"_

"The minute's over, goodbye," Shaun interrupted, and closed his phone with a snap.

Turning back to Michelle, he saw she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"...I really don't get the point of that Pepsi commercial," Michelle said quietly, then laughed at the non-plussed look on Shaun's face.

"Something was happening between us, and now you want to talk about soft drinks," Shaun said, half jokingly, half surprised (for him).

"Meh, I don't like fizzy stuff, anyway," Michelle grinned, then shook her head and said seriously, "It won't work out."

"Yes, it will," Shaun protested, taking her hands again, "There's no lineup of suitors for me here, and you don't have to fight against social class. We can be together, here."

"Shaun, I-"

Shaun leaned forward and silenced Michelle completely, crushing his mouth against hers. Her toes curled and she gasped and stared at Shaun when he pulled back. His voice and words were so carefully put, almost impersonal, but _that_...Maybe the Aburame did not actually dull down their emotions with training. Maybe they simply learned to hide it, and when the mask came off...

"_Please_," Shaun said, touching his forehead against hers, gripping her hands tightly, "Trust me. This can work."

"It's going to be so weird," Michelle protested, trying to pull away, "Here, we're together, but there..." Michiko shook her head, at a loss for words.

"My father's given us plenty of time to make my clan's decision fall in your favour," Shino said firmly, "Five years. Tsume-san and Hana-sempai will no doubt agree to help you. I'm already starting to think of a plan. But I need you with me, please."

Michelle looked down, not speaking, and knowing that she was just looking for new excuses. What was she so afraid of? Well, it wasn't fun when there was a big, scary clan looking down on a little adopted girl, not to mention that she didn't have much to offer the Aburame clan in the first place. But as much as she wanted to submit to the clan's wishes, she knew she was tied to them already; it wasn't apparent in this world, but as a ninja, she still had that scar hole in her wrist.

"...You still haven't gotten the third Fused Shadow in Twilight Princess?" Michelle asked after a moment, sounding disappointed, "Even _I_ got it already."

Shaun stared down at her for a minute, and Michelle struggled with trying not to laugh at him, right into his face. He looked so vulnerable, suddenly, but in a comical way. Still, she smiled while she hugged him tightly, and he took it to be her agreement.

"...It's so good we're all together again, back in the city..."

* * *

Esperwen: The fluff...(teardrop) I'm going to miss it, because the next portal has less.

Ruroni: wat a releif...

Esperwen: Oh, shut up! You can't even spell 'relief'!

Ruroni: but u hav a poor sens of plot

Esperwen: Says the one who reads yaoi! There IS no plot in yaoi!

Ruroni: ther is no plot in fulff esperwen

Esperwen: You're impossible!

Shino: Forget the two co-writers. We all hope you at least tolerated this Portal fic.

Itachi: You had better review, or else-

Corey: Yeah, yeah, one of their relatives will die. We get the point.

Deniizu: We'll see you guys in the next portal fic.

Michiko: I think I heard Esperwen aiming for posting around late August/early September.

Hinata: Ano...but both of them are starting university, so it'll be rough for them.

Kiba: I don't care! I want to be in something! The latest Naruto chapters only mention me.

Esperwen: ...hey, you're still reading this? Wow. Someone's devoted. We'll see you in a couple months!


	18. Another Portal

Deniizu: I liiiiive...

Michiko: Esperwen, what took you so long?

Pooriin: You're so late to post! That sucks! I've been dead for months!

Esperwen: You weren't really dead. Just sort of...in limbo...yeah.

Hinata: Ano...that's the same thing...

Kiba: You've been reading Ruroni Kenshin and watching Death Note for too long, Esperwen! It took up all your writing time!

Esperwen: Liar! I had school! _Have_ school! I'm in school right now!

Shino: Reader. There is now a sixth Portal.

Esperwen: Don't ignore me!

Itachi: I and Shino are still the featured characters.

Esperwen: That's really bad grammar. You just wanted to mention yourself first, didn't you?

Inel: Ah! And these genres are from Humour and General.

Esperwen: Fine. Pretend I'm not here.

Firu: You guys use sucky ways to find fics. Just use the title search for "Portal: Newcomers".

Korii: Title search is crap. Just use Esperwen's profile.

Firu: Esperwen's profile is crap.

Korii: You're crap.

Esperwen: ...

Itachi: So reader. Get moving. The sixth Portal is open.


End file.
